Life (and Other Things Like It)
by NeneJPhilly
Summary: And they thought graduation was big… Living in the Big Apple has its ups and downs but as long as they get through it together, they’ll do just fine. (Not Me Universe) (4 CHAPTERS LEFT!)
1. Chapter 1

**_So this is the third installment of That's Just Not Me. It takes place in New York and over the course of a year. There's about 37 chapters so it's not as long as my other stories but it's far from being a one shot. More things are coming out and some things are getting cleared up._**

 ** _So enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

Mercedes Jones yawned, rolled over and stretched in one fluid motion before blinking open her honey eyes. She lifted her head slightly and took stock of her surroundings. Puck was snoring to her left and Anna was curled up to her right.

She pushed back the covers a bit and crawled out from under them to get out of bed. Once her feet were on the floor, she tiptoed out to Raven's room and changed her daughter's diaper. When that was finished, she breastfed her.

She hummed lightly under her breath until the baby ate her fill then burped her before putting her back in her crib. She left the room to go back to her own and woke up Anna. "Annie?"

Anna stirred. "No." She whined.

Mercedes kissed her cheek before singing to her softly.

"MercyCat?"

"Yeah, honey. Wake up."

Anna's grey eyes opened and searched out her girlfriend's. "Good morning." She stretched.

"Good morning to you, too." She smiled.

Anna pushed back the covers and stood up. "Oh, I have to pee so bad!"

"Go pee." Mercedes stood aside.

Anna kissed her cheek before rushing off to the bathroom.

Mercedes followed at a sedated pace and went to the two sinked vanity. She turned on the water in one and ran her favorite Dove bar soap under the stream. After lathering up, she began applying it to her face.

Anna left the water closet and came to wash her hands.

Mercedes rinsed her hands and turned on music before readying her tooth supplies. She wet her toothbrush and layered on a strip of a deep cleaning toothpaste and brushed for exactly two minutes like her dentist father taught her.

Then she rinsed her mouth and brushed with a whitening paste followed by baking soda and flossing before using mouthwash.

Anna brushed her teeth with a whitening toothpaste twice before flossing and using mouthwash.

Then Mercedes washed her face off before applying her special facial wash that cleaned her pores and removed dead skin while hydrating it. Anna washed her face with soap and water.

In unison, they turned off the water and split up, Mercedes going to turn on the shower, Anna going to grab two body towels.

When the water was warm enough, they disrobed and went inside the shower to wash, Anna with her strawberry body wash and Mercedes with her burnt brown sugar body wash.

Once clean, they wrapped up in the towels and took their dirty PJs to their closet, where they dumped them in the hamper.

They went to their drawers and began picking out underwear.

Anna chose a grey bra and white panties while Mercedes chose a deep red set. Both pulled on white socks before going to their vanities.

Marcy had kept to her vow and decorated Anna's vanity for her. The backsplash had every positive affirmation the others had but in pink and the lightbulbs were pink in the shape of a smiling face with a big "A" in the center.

Both Mercedes and Anna slathered on lotion. Anna used Jergen's while Mercedes had a special mix. She and her siblings had special skin (everything, really) so the eight mixed up their own batch of lotions specifically tailored for their skin.

The girls even added glitter to theirs for an extra pop.

After lotion was deodorant and fragrance. Mercedes had a strawberry-lemon perfume while Anna had a "sea breeze" scent.

When they were done, they went to their racks of clothes to find outfits for the day.

"What do you want to wear?" Anna asked.

"I have no idea. It's getting really warm." Mercedes ran hangers over the racks. "Ooh! I like this skirt!"

Anna came over to inspect it. "It's cute. Are you going to keep your same socks?"

"No. I want knee highs." Mercedes threw the short frilly skirt over the seat of her "high heeled shoe" chair and went back to her dresser to find knee high stockings that matched the dark blue skirt.

While she was doing that, Anna was looking through her shirts. "What about this?"

Mercedes looked back. "Ooh! I love it!" She came back and took the grey long sleeved shirt with peekaboo shoulders. "Now I have to figure out what shoes I'm wearing."

"Do you feel like being tall?" Anna went back to her own side.

"I should. Donovan at work keeps teasing me about being able to fit in his pocket." Mercedes changed her socks.

"How old is Donovan again?"

"Thirty."

"And he's definitely married?"

"Babe." Mercedes smiled.

"Just checking." Anna raised her hands.

Mercedes pulled her skirt on and walked across the expansive space to hug her. "You don't have to worry about me. Besides, he has Sunshine."

Donovan and Sunshine were the married interracial couple that owned the coffee shop that Mercedes worked at. He was a blonde, laid-back, charmer white guy while Sunshine was earthy and very pro-Africa with dreads and a nose ring black girl.

"We already know his type." Anna teased.

"I love Sunshine but I'm never getting dreads. No way. Momma drilled it into our heads that they were dirty and it stuck. People talk about having clean dreads but I just can't see it."

Anna giggled. "Every time I think about dreadlocks, I picture Johnny Depp."

Mercedes laughed. "He's as good-looking as can be but I still wouldn't touch his hair."

Anna smiled. "What about this?"

Mercedes cocked her head before taking down another dress. "Floral looks so good on you."

"Thank you."

Mercedes grabbed a periwinkle crochet cardigan. "Here."

Anna tunneled into the short, short sleeved dress then shrugged into the jacket. She sat at her vanity as Mercedes went to put on her shirt. The blonde went through her jewelry before making a few selections.

Mercedes put in her own jewels before going to her shoes. "These should be good, right?"

Anna laughed. "Who are you trying to impress?!"

"You." Mercedes winked.

Anna smiled shyly. "Then I approve."

Mercedes took the black knee high heeled shoes. "You should get flats. I want to be taller today."

"Okay, MercyCat." Anna grabbed white ballet flats.

Together they took the shoes and went to their vanities to put on makeup. After decorating their faces, they did their hair. When done, they left the closet and saw Puck was still snoring to high heaven.

They giggled before slipping out to go to the door, their dogs on their heels. They grabbed leashes and put on their shoes at the door before grabbing keys and plastic poop bags.

Mercedes opened the door and they left.

"Good morning!" Brittany shouted.

"Good morning, Britt!" Mercedes and Anna chirped. "Good morning, Marcy, Ellen!"

Marcy yawned. "What up?"

"Good morning, guys." Ellen smiled.

"Let's go." Marcy walked forward.

The four with their dogs (or teacup pig in Brittany's case) followed.

They rode the elevators down to the lobby, where they met up with Sam and Karou and their dogs. They greeted each other before leaving the apartment building.

Marcy and Karou started stretching as soon as they got to the sidewalk. "Are you ready for this whipping?"

Karou scoffed. "I'm so ready! Wait!"

Marcy snorted. "Go!" She took off running down the street, her two dogs behind her until they pulled in front.

"No fair!" Karou ran behind her. "You cheater!"

"Oh my goodness, they exhaust me!" Mercedes groaned. The others chuckled as they all set off _walking_. The group walked their animals together around a few blocks for exercise and business doing. Marcy and Karou had bigger, more energetic dogs so they ran.

"Cupcake can run." Brittany cooed down to her pet pink pig. "Can't you, boy?"

"It's a nice enough day." Sam shrugged. "Why run when you can walk? Take in the sights?"

"You're type B, baby." Mercedes put a hand on his shoulder. "Your Batman Buddy is type A."

He chuckled.

"So how did everyone sleep?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes set Raven in her high-chair and began rummaging through the fridge for foodstuffs for breakfast. She danced around a bit, singing under her breath as she found food to cook.

"Hi, Tia Me! Good morning!" Beth ran in.

Mercedes caught her and lifted her high. "Good morning, my special girl!"

"Good morning, Anna." Beth hugged Mercedes.

"Good morning, Beth." Anna sipped her coffee.

Mercedes put Beth down and returned to cooking.

Beth joined Anna at the table and sat on her knees. "Good morning, Sissy."

Raven gurgled.

Beth giggled.

Anna stood up and went to help Mercedes. She didn't know much (anything) about cooking but her love was showing her, teaching her things. "Want help?"

"Sure. You stir this while I make Rae's breakfast." Mercedes handed her a spoon.

"What is it again?"

Mercedes pronounced it slowly. It was a simple breakfast pasta dish that Mercedes made a lot in the two weeks since they'd come to New York.

Anna nodded, saying the word to herself.

Mercedes made the baby's cereal and set it on her tray, hoping Raven didn't upset it before she got to feed her.

"I help!" Beth stood in the booth and began feeding her sister.

Quinn and Rachel walked in. "Good morning!"

"Morning!" Mercedes and Anna waved.

Quinn poured her and her girlfriend coffee. "Did you tell Tia Me your dream, Beth?"

"No!" Beth brightened. "Tia Me, I dreamed that trees were candy!"

"Really?!" Mercedes teased.

"Uh huh!"

"What do you know about candy?"

"It looks good and Finn eats a lot."

"He does, doesn't he? Finn's silly."

"Ouch!" Finn joked as he walked in wearing his garage's jumpsuit.

Puck laughed, following him in his pajamas, not having a uniform.

"Morning!" The girls chirped.

"Mornin'!" The boys sat at the table.

"How'd you sleep?" Mercedes asked.

"I slept like a log." Puck waited for her to come by so he could kiss her.

"You snore like you saw them."

Finn laughed. "I had a good night."

"Good. Breakfast is ready. Dig in."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes let herself in across the hall. She shut and locked the door behind herself then slipped off her shoes before going further into the home. "Marce?! Are you here?!"

"I gotta work. Where else am I gonna be?" Marcy walked out of the library.

"Stop scaring me!"

"Stop being scary."

Mercedes narrowed her eyes. "Where's the twins?"

"Watching _Maya and Rio_. You know they're stuck on them."

"Well I'm here for their lesson." Mercedes taught the twins piano every morning from eight to nine.

"I figured." Marcy went through the papers in her hands. "I won't be in your way. Just getting a cup of tea."

"I love your outfit." Mercedes touched the hem of her sister's skirt. "Reminds me of your outfit when you came back to school after having the twins."

Marcy looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a short white skirt with ruffles, a white camisole and a blue jean vest. "Thanks. When I leave, I have these strappy white heels that are cute."

"When you leave?! Where are you going?!"

"I work from home; I ain't gotta be stuck here all day!" Marcy had landed a chemist job on their third day on New York.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just meant, you keep saying you're going to visit me at work but you haven't been by yet. I'm telling you; you'll love my co-workers!"

"Doubt it." Marcy began walking to the kitchen.

"You will!" Mercedes followed. "I promise. If you don't, I'll do your laundry for a month!"

"That's hilarious." Marcy set aside her work to make a cup of tea in the microwave, preferring the kettle but definitely not preferring kettle time.

"I'll even cook for you."

"Now we're talking. So what do I have to come off if by some miracle I don't hate these hippy dippy people right off the bat?"

"You have to straighten my hair."

"Ugh!" Marcy groaned.

"It's what I want." Mercedes smiled and held out a hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"Fine. Whatever." Marcy shook her hand as the twins ran in.

"Tia Me!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes wiped down the counter before leaning against it. "She's the cutest baby in the world."

"Your baby sounds downright adorable." Sunshine told her.

"I should check on her." Mercedes pulled out her phone.

"I can't wait to have kids." Jade, a coworker, sighed dreamily while sending longings looks to another coworker.

Her best friend, Khandi laughed. "You need a boyfriend for that."

"You don't have one either!"

Sunshine and Mercedes giggled.

Khandi stuck her tongue out. "That's cuz I haven't met anyone yet!"

"And you never will! You're so shy!"

"You're not…"

Mercedes shot off a text to Puck before focusing on Khandi. "There is not a thing wrong with being shy. I got my boyfriend and I'm shy."

"You had to tell him you liked him at one point, didn't you?" Jade sassed.

"I know you're not talking when you won't tell Jude-!"

"Shhh!" Jade shushed Khandi. "He's coming over!"

The girls shut up and posed like they weren't talking about anything.

Jude walked over. "Hey, brahs. Everything okay?"

"Yes, Jude!" They chorused.

"Hey, Jude." Khandi leaned over the counter. "You don't have a girlfriend, right?"

"Correcto. I'm flying solo on this missionary trip of life." He folded his towel and set it on the counter.

"I swear my family would love you." Mercedes adored Jude. "My sister is coming in sometime today and I swear you're going to hit it off."

"You said that yesterday." Sunshine leaned against a backing counter.

"She's really coming in today. I made her promise and she never breaks a promise."

"Which sister is this?" Khandi asked.

"She's a year younger than me."

"Do you look alike?" Jade asked with a grin.

"She's definitely going to hit on you." Mercedes booped her nose.

The pretty Vietnamese seventeen year old grinned. "I might have to flirt back."

Khandi rolled her eyes. "You a mess, Jay."

Mercedes looked towards the door then grew excited. "There she goes! Marcy! Over here!"

The others turned to face the open doorway and saw two blondes walk in. It was Marcy alright, with Sam. They were talking until Marcy heard her name.

She looked over, her eyes adjusting to the dimness of the cafe behind her sunglasses, with a slight frown before her eyes widened. "Jude?!"

Jude straightened, his arms falling to his sides in astonishment. "Marceline Anne?!"

Marcy started screaming and both ran towards each other. She leapt into his arms and he hefted her high and spun.

Jade, who had a huge crush on the eighteen year old Canadian, frowned. "What's this?!"

Mercedes was confused herself. "I don't know. But I'm going to find out." She went to the hugging pair and tapped Jude on the shoulder. "Hi. What's going on?"

"Mercy, this is Jude!" Jude set Marcy down and hugged her. "My very best friend in the whole world!"

"I think Mal and Karou would be upset to hear that." Mercedes pointed out before she frowned. "Wait? Jude Nixon?! The guy you met as a baby?!"

"Yes!" Marcy held onto Jude before letting him go to punch his chest. "Dude! How are you?! Where have you been?!"

"Me?! How have you been?! Where have you been?! I saw you in Scrotia and then you disappeared!" Jude framed her face.

"I had a movie and after that accident, I had to leave the country! I came home and never went back!"

"You went home?" Jude's eyes widened.

"Dude, you don't even know! Shit jumped off and it was crazy! My parents got divorced and I stayed with my dad."

"Really?! I got shipped off to 'Nam and spent a year in a real unpleasant place then got sent here. My host family was really nice so I stayed."

"I'm so happy. Did your parents die?"

"Dude…"

"Just hoping."

Jude hugged her again. "Look at you! I barely recognized you! You have blonde hair and you're wearing a skirt and heels! Who are you?!"

"I'm a girl now! Traded my chucks for slingbacks but you know I still get down!"

"Let's go surfing down in Jersey!"

"You're on!"

"I'm happy for you both but I'm still confused." Mercedes stuck her bottom lip out.

"Why didn't you tell me you were working with Jude?!" Marcy accused.

"I didn't know it was the same one! Plenty of people are named Jude!"

Marcy eeked. "I can't wait to catch up!" She suddenly started speaking Russian.

Jude responded and kissed her head.

"We've lost them." Mercedes told the others. "I can't understand Russian."

"Russian?" Sunshine whistled. "And I thought I was fancy because I studied Latin."

Mercedes clapped her hands. "Hey! Stop that! You're leaving everyone out!"

"Our bad." Jude smiled.

"Whatever." Marcy didn't care.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Marce, meet Sunshine, Khandi and Jade, if you don't already know them that is."

"Shut up." Marcy nodded at the others before she saw Khandi. Her eyes lit up. "Look at you! Pretty as a picture!"

Khandi's eyes widened.

"You must taste like candy. Do you like long walks on the beach?"

Khandi blushed. "I'm- I'm sorry. I'm not into girls."

"What a coincidence! Sam's not into boys! As cute as he is, you'd think he should be but nope. He's likes girls. Pretty, beautiful girls."

Sam's eyes widened and he blushed.

Khandi ducked her head. She didn't even know how to respond.

Marcy elbowed Sam but he was so embarrassed, he begged her optically to leave him alone but of course she wouldn't. She got behind him and shoved her arms through the holes created by his arms and deepened her voice. " _Hi, my name is Sam Evans and I like Sci-fi media, fantasy, comic books and country music._

 _I'm impossibly sweet, kind and generous. I have a younger brother and sister and two great parents. I go to church most Sundays and I try to do the right thing even when other people make it hard_.

 _I can sing and I think I can dance, I make macaroni art and can draw really well. I'm not much into theater or literature but I'm willing to learn if you're the right girl for me._

 _I have dyslexia but I'm far from unintelligent. I will add to your life and be the best human being I can be towards you while remaining true to myself._

 _May I take you out this Friday?_ "

All of their mouths were hanging open (except Jude, who put nothing past Marcy) but none moreso than Sam's. He was mortified and felt like crawling under a rock.

Jade got behind Khandi and spoke for the beautiful African American. " _My name is Khandace Johnson and I'm extremely shy. I'd rather stay in with a good book and a mug of tea on a Saturday night but I'm not boring._

 _I'm outdoorsy and love hiking and biking and fishing. I go to church and I'm the youngest of three sisters with a widowed father._

 _I'm caring and kind and secretly funny with a sassy streak. I'm very smart and smart enough to be kind about it. I have a type of dyslexia myself so I know about overcoming odds._

 _I'm a really great, true friend and anybody with sense loves me. I haven't had much experience with boys but I promise not to play games or break your heart._

 _I would love to go out with you this Friday._ "

" _I thank you for your company, Ms and I'd like to extend the invitation for a picnic in the park, say around one?_ " "Sam" said.

" _One would be perfect_." "Khandi" answered. " _Should I bring anything?_ "

" _An appetite and sparkling conversation. Do you have any food allergies?_ "

" _I do not_."

" _Everything will be homemade. Prepare to be loved down so tough, you'd think our love was foretold_."

Jade giggled before assuming Khandi's voice again. " _I'll take you up on that and raise you a white picket fence and two point five children and a dog in the future._ "

" _We're on the path. I already have a dog and he'd love to meet his new mommy. I'll bring him on the date_."

" _Perfect!_ "

Khandi broke away from Jade and ran to shut herself in the bathroom while Sam dragged Marcy out, super embarrassed.

Mercedes chewed on her bottom lip. "So that's Sam and Marcy."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes took her makeup off with makeup remover then took off her jewelry. She set her boots back in their proper place before going to the bathroom to wash her face.

Anna walked in and began washing her face as well.

When both girls began brushing their teeth, Puck walked in stark naked to use the shower.

The girls washed in the sinks while he washed in the shower then all three left to go to the closet. They crawled into their night attire then turned off the lights to go to bed.

Mercedes made them pray with her at the side of the bed before getting in. She tied her hair up and put a cap on before kissing both. "Good night."

Anna lay next to her. "Good night."

"Night." Puck turned on the television and turned it down low.

Mercedes closed her eyes and was drifting off faster than expected. She'd had a filled day and it had been very pleasant.

She liked days like this. Today was a good day.


	2. Chapter 2

**_This is a very sweet chapter._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

"Can we talk?" Ellen spoke up nervously.

"Sure." Mercedes smiled.

"Privately?"

"Go on without us." Mercedes urged Anna, Sam and Brittany. The three blondes kept walking while the brunette stopped. "What's going on?"

Ellen sighed. "Does Marcy hate me?"

Mercedes's eyes widened. "Of course not! Why would you think that?!"

"Because she doesn't sleep with us."

Mercedes was confused. "Huh?"

Ellen went to an opening shop and sat at the outdoor patio set. "When we go to sleep, she's always in the window writing. When I wake up, she's either writing still or in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. If I wake up in the middle of the night, she's not there."

Mercedes sat next to her. "That's so strange. I'm sure she doesn't hate you. Have you told Mal how you feel?"

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up?" Ellen said sadly. "He snapped at me."

Mercedes gasped. "I'll fix this!"

"I'm scared. I don't want them angry with me."

"They won't be." Mercedes patted her hand. "I'll fix this. Just you see." She stood up. "Ready to keep going?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes opened the door to the study and stuck her head in. "Hey, Marce? I'm done with the twins. Marionette has them."

"Cool!" Marcy answered absentmindedly.

Mercedes pursed her lips, wondering if she should bring Ellen up now. She decided to take the bull by the horns. Maybe Marcy wouldn't get upset?

She came inside the room and shut the door behind herself before crossing the floor. She stood next to Marcy and waited for her to notice her.

She waited a while… "Marcy!"

"What?!" Marcy frowned down at the data in her hands.

"Can we talk?!"

"What do you think is happening now?!"

Mercedes groaned. "Be serious!"

"When am I ever not?"

"Stop being mean and listen."

Marcy lowered the pages and looked up at Mercedes. "What did you just say?"

"You're being mean and you know it."

The look on Marcy's face was unpleasant.

Mercedes pouted. "Can we talk about where you sleep at night?"

"What?"

"Where do you sleep at night?"

"Why?"

"I want you to answer before I do."

Marcy stared at her before clicking her tongue and rolling her eyes. "I sleep in the spare bedroom. Why?"

"Why do you sleep in the spare bedroom?!"

"You had one question. One. Now answer mine. Why do you want to know?"

"Marcy,-!"

"Mercy!" Marcy's tone broke no argument.

Mercedes frowned. "Ellen knows."

"So what?"

"What?!"

"Why should I care that she knows I sleep in the spare bedroom?"

"Because she thinks you hate her!"

"That's ludicrous." Marcy scoffed.

"I know! Why do you sleep in the spare room?!"

"Why do you think?"

"I have no idea-!"

"My night terrors, Mercy."

"Oh. You don't want to wake her up at night?"

"I don't want her to know I have them at all."

Mercedes stared at her in awe. "Ellen doesn't know you have nightmares?!"

"No."

Mercedes gaped. "Why haven't you told that girl that?!"

"Why would I?"

"Because you love her!"

Marcy gave her a look.

"Or your version of it! Marcy, you have to share with her!"

"And this is why I don't tell you anything." Marcy threw the papers on her desk and stood up to walk away.

Mercedes followed her. "Next you're going to tell me she doesn't know you're mentally ill!"

Marcy looked back at her.

Mercedes gasped. "She doesn't know?!"

"Have you told Anna?"

Mercedes was going to confidently answer yes but realized she never had. "No…"

Marcy gave her a look that basically said "see?" before leaving the room.

Mercedes followed her to the kitchen. "Marcy, we have to tell them."

"Nope. Not going to do it." Marcy grabbed a glass.

"Yes! What do you think is going to happen?! She still cares about Mal and he told her about him!"

Marcy gave her a look as she uncorked a bottle of wine.

"Mal never told either…" Mercedes guessed flatly.

"Nope." Marcy poured a glassful.

"This is ridiculous! And day drinking?! Really, Marce?! This is America!"

"I'm still Italian. I drink when I feel like it!" Marcy took a large swallow.

"That's your Irish coming out."

"So you don't want a glass?"

Mercedes bit her lip. "Just a bit."

Marcy's eyebrow quirked before getting another wineglass down. "I don't know why you're into sharing so damn much."

"You're too closed! I bet Mikey told T and Lucy told Finn and Rachel!"

"I bet you cash money that is not true." Marcy slid over the glass.

"How much?" Mercedes was confident in Mike if not her twin.

"How much you have from your allowance this week?"

"On me?"

"Yeah."

Mercedes thought. "I didn't go to the bank this week so I haven't taken any out but I have $2000 from last week when we went to the gallery show."

"Fine. I bet you two grand that they haven't said a word about being sick."

Mercedes held out her hand and they shook on it. She pulled out her phone and texted Quinn to see if she had a break to talk then called Mike. "Mikey?!"

"Hey, Mercy! What's up?" Mike's voice filled the kitchen.

"Come upstairs to Marcy's. We need to talk."

"Uh oh! What about?"

"It's a serious conversation but nothing bad."

"Alright. I'll be up in a minute."

"Okay. We're in the kitchen." She hung up then answered the phone when Quinn called her. "Hey!"

"Hey, Mercy! What's up?" Quinn chirped.

"Are you on break?"

"No."

"Girl, get off the phone! You could get fired!"

"So?"

Marcy giggled softly.

Mercedes smiled, loving when her sister expressed joy but ruefully because of course Marcy supported Quinn being selfish. "Stop that, crazy girl! Ask your boss if you can go on break. We need to have a conversation."

"Nobody's in here. It's nine fifteen in the morning. Who's buying jewelry at this time of day?" Quinn obviously couldn't care less.

"She's got a good point." Marcy whispered.

"She does not!" Mercedes hissed before replying to Quinn. "Just ask!"

"Fine!" Quinn snapped. Her voice was low as they heard her ask if she could go on break. She came back. "I asked. She said yes. Now can you tell me what's going on?"

"We're waiting on Mikey."

"Not anymore." Marcy pointed to the doorway of the kitchen.

Mercedes turned but no one was there. "Nobody's here."

Mike showed up. "I'm here."

"How can you hear him?!" Mercedes demanded. "He's wearing socks!"

"Who said I heard him?" Marcy took a sip of wine.

Mercedes was stumped.

Mike shook his head. "Stop doing her like that, Moppet." He sat at the island with Mercedes and kissed her cheek. "Hey, Sis."

"Hi, Mikey!" Mercedes kissed his cheek loudly. "I like you more than that rotten sister of yours!"

Marcy started crying exaggeratedly.

Mike laughed. "Be good, Marce!"

"What that?"

Quinn laughed.

Mercedes put her on speakerphone. "I have a question for the both of you."

"Shoot." Mike picked up her wineglass and took a sip.

"What's up?" Quinn asked.

Marcy grabbed another glass from the cupboard. "Just so you know, I want cash. Don't write me a check."

Mercedes glared at her. "Have either of you told your spouses about us being sick?"

"I'm not sick." Mike frowned.

"Not physically sick, Mikey."

"Oh." He grimaced. "No way."

"Not ever!" Quinn bit off.

"What was that?!" Marcy asked loudly.

"No!" Both yelled.

Marcy looked at Mercedes expectantly.

Mercedes pouted at Mike. "Why not, Mikey?! You love T!"

"I do but I'm never telling that!" Mike refused as he took the glass from Marcy.

"Stop that!" She snapped. "You're going to tell her!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!" She picked up her phone and shot off a text. "Marcy, call Mal home."

"Nope. I'm not gonna ambush him like this." Marcy refused.

Mercedes liked hearing her defend him but hated hearing the word "no". "Yes! We need to have a family meeting about this!"

"You can't tell us what to do, bossy brat! We're not telling!"

"Fine! I'll text him to come home!"

"Who?"

Mike, Mercedes and Marcy faced the door and saw Mal coming in. "Mal?!"

"Who do you want home?" Mal asked further as he came to stand by his girlfriend. "You're day drinking? Either work pissed you off or Merce did."

"I did not!" Mercedes was offended.

"Yes, you did." Marcy held the bottle out. "Want?"

Mal shrugged. "So what'd you do now, Mercy? Trying to make her say the "L" word?"

Mercedes stuck out her tongue. "Why haven't you told Ellen you're mentally ill?!"

Mal spit out the wine he'd just sipped.

Marcy's lips twitched as she beat on his back. "And now you know."

"Even the twerp knows it's not a good idea." Quinn said.

Mal hacked and wheezed. "Mercy!"

"Doesn't she have the right to know that you have issues?" Mercedes went on. "At least to help you through rough times?"

He stared at her in horror.

"I agree with Mal." Mike said.

"I said it from jump street." Marcy sipped her wine.

"Guys?!" Mercedes pleaded. "You don't think I'm scared, too?! Of course I'm terrified about what Annie will say or how she's going to look at me. But I love her and she loves me. She loves all of me and she's going to have my back.

In fact, I think we should tell all our friends-"

"Nope!" Her siblings refused in unison.

"Guys! They can help us! It's not just us anymore and we can let them in. The bigger our circle, the bigger our support group. Mikey, what if you and T are out and you have a panic attack? How is she going to help you through that if she doesn't know the warning signs?"

Mike said nothing.

"Lucy, how are Finn and Rachel supposed to know the difference between your moods? How are they going to know to bring you a cheese plate when you get anxious or fruit when you get depressed?"

Quinn was silent.

"Mal, how is Ellen going to calm you down if she doesn't know you're getting whipped up? And Marcy, how is she going to help you strengthen your walls if she doesn't know you need walls in the first place?"

Mal and Marcy looked at each other.

"We cannot shoulder our burdens alone. We learned that in therapy but we haven't acted upon it. What's the point of these coping techniques if no one helps us through them?"

"You might have a small point." Quinn allowed reluctantly.

Mike lifted a shoulder. "I never thought about it that way."

"What do you think?" Mal asked Marcy.

Who shook her head. "Not doing it."

"Mal, Ellen thinks Marcy hates her because she doesn't sleep in the same bed as you." Mercedes told.

"You don't sleep in our room?" Mal didn't know that.

"I sleep in the spare." Marcy lifted a shoulder.

"Why?"

"Why do you think, Mal? I don't want to expose her to _this_." She gestured to her head.

Mal set his face. "We're telling them."

"I'm not."

"What do I keep telling you? I will catch you."

"But people knowing?" That freaked Marcy out.

"They're not people." Mercedes said. "They're our friends."

Marcy gulped down the rest of her wine. "Fine. When?"

"I think when everyone comes home from work. We can be here if it makes you more comfortable."

"I'll be closer to my whiskey."

"Stop that! This is going to go right! We'll order in and we'll have a frank grown up conversation about a very real issue in our lives and it's going to go right: I promise."

The others looked at each other. They were putting their faith in her.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Mama, I don't like this." Puck said again.

"Trust me! This will go right!" Mercedes adjusted his shirt in nervousness.

"You don't want to do this."

"Yes, I do."

"All our friends?!"

"We need to let them in."

He groaned.

"We've been bad friends for not telling them sooner."

"It's none of their business."

"We're their business."

"You're not going to stop, are you?"

"No." She palmed his cheek.

"Okay, Rae's all ready." Anna walked in with the baby on her hip.

"How's Mommy's big girl?!" Mercedes gasped.

Raven giggled.

Mercedes tickled her.

"We should get going." Anna said. "Marcy hates when people are late."

"And she's probably on edge, too." Mercedes sighed.

"Why?"

"Yeah, Mama. Why?" Puck lifted a brow.

"Hush up!" Mercedes took Raven and left. Anna and Puck followed.

They met up with Quinn, Rachel, Finn and Beth and left food out for the animals before going across the hall.

They headed to the den, where the house's occupants were spread out with Mike, Sam, Blaine, Kurt and Tina. They all greeted each other and the newcomers sat down as Karou walked in.

"What's this meeting about?" Kurt asked.

"Food first." Mercedes said. "Who's hungry?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Come on, Wheezy!" Santana complained as she ate off her chopsticks. "We have food, we have wine, the kids are in the kitchen. What's this meeting about?"

"This meeting is about us." Mercedes wiped her mouth.

"Us?" Anna asked.

"No, us." Mercedes pointed out her siblings and Puck.

"Well?!" Their friends asked when no one said anything.

"You're making me tell everything?!" Mercedes frowned.

"You want to tell so badly." Marcy turned her head.

Mike and Mal avoided Mercedes's gaze while Quinn raised a brow.

Mercedes looked at Puck. He promptly looked away. "Really?!"

"Mama, you know I don't want to tell." He shook his head.

"That's so unfair!"

He took her hand but said not a word.

"I need to spark up if we're going to seriously have this conversation right now." Marcy stood up.

"Marcy,-!" Mercedes didn't even know what she was going to say so it was just as well that Marcy ignored her to go to a shelf with a vase on it.

"Shut up." Marcy reached inside and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"You smoke?!" Ellen's eyes widened.

Marcy nodded as she opened the balcony door and lit her cancer stick with a lighter.

Mal got up and joined her by the door. He took it from her and put it in his mouth. "This whole thing stresses me out."

"Mal?!" Ellen's jaw dropped.

Mike got up from the floor and walked over. He took the pack from Marcy and lit up. "You only got one left."

"I know. It's the pack from my birthday." Marcy told him.

"What?!" Puck and Tina said in unison for completely different reasons.

"You still had cigarettes from a month ago?!" Puck continued.

"Mike, you smoke?!" Tina went on incredulously.

"Yes." Both Mike and Marcy answered.

Puck stood up. "Can I bum the last one? I don't even like thinking of what's about to happen."

Quinn popped up as Marcy gave him the pack and lighter. "I feel like I'm about to break out in hives. Share, Mikey."

Mike handed over his cigarette.

"Quinn?!" Rachel was blown away.

Quinn took a long drag and let it out slowly. "What?"

"I can't believe you're smoking!"

"It's not much left."

"It was mine by myself." Mike drawled before taking Mal's.

"Hey!" Mal grew upset.

"Mikey, stop being mean." Mercedes lectured. "Give him back his cigarette."

Mike's lips twisted but he held it up. "You got lucky, twerp."

"No, _you_ got lucky." Marcy snatched it from him. "It was mine anyway."

"Sorry, Marce." Mike and Mal murmured.

"I just can't believe this." Kurt's eyes were wide.

"Me either." Mercedes pouted. "It's not going to be that bad."

"So you say." Quinn commented.

"Don't you two have asthma?" Sam wondered.

"Yes!" Ellen and Tina shouted.

"What's your point?" Mike looked at Quinn pointedly to share.

"You could die!" Tina wailed.

"You could die from anything." Marcy pointed out.

Ellen frowned. "But-?"

"Calm down, chick. We're fine."

"Are you guys calm now?" Mercedes asked patiently. "Are you relaxed enough?"

"I'm not relaxed! I'm just calm! I need a blunt to relax! Hey-O!" Marcy's eyes widened happily.

"Way ahead of you, Moppet!" Mike pulled a joint from his pocket.

"Guys!" Mercedes groaned. "How much longer is this going to take?"

"Mercy, you're telling on us! Give us a minute!" Quinn set her hands on her hips.

Mike lit the joint and breathed it in before coughing.

"Where's your inhaler, dude?" Puck asked as Marcy took the weed from him.

Mike thought before patting his pockets. "I got it. Marce?"

Marcy started hacking. "What- pockets do you see- on this dress?!"

"You are going to die if you keep this up." He handed over his.

She took two puffs after giving Puck the joint. She breathed deeply. "Nuh uhn. I got you."

He smiled and hugged her.

"I didn't say touch me…"

He squeezed her.

"It's "puff, puff, pass", Puck!" Quinn held out her hand.

"Sorry, Q." Puck held it out.

Finn's eyes were wide. "I can't believe you're really doing it!"

"Doing what?" She took her two puffs before handing it to Mal.

"Smoking! They said you did but I've never seen you do it."

"I don't smoke much weed."

"I can't believe you're smoking at all." Santana crossed her legs. "Except Puckerman, you're all goody-goodies."

"Okay." Marcy gave a low chuckle.

"I've never smoked anything before." Brittany's eyes were wide. "I want to try!"

"Britt!" Artie was taken aback. "Can she smoke while pregnant?"

"She's too far along." Marcy said.

"Poo!" Brittany pouted.

"Come here."

Brittany got up and went over. Marcy took a hit then blew in Brittany's face. The older blonde blinked. "Wha-? I- uh-"

"It'll be a contact high. A very small one. You'll be fine and so will your baby."

Brittany beamed before hugging Marcy and going to sit down.

"Did you know about this?" Kurt asked his boyfriend.

Blaine looked guilty.

"Blaine?! How could you not tell me our friends smoke?!"

"I didn't know if they wanted me to tell!" Blaine defended himself.

"It's not a secret." Mike pointed out.

"Then why haven't we seen you do it?" Sam asked.

"We do it all the time." Mal lifted a shoulder.

"We've never seen you!" Tina frowned.

"Cuz we're always outside." Marcy told her.

"What?" Ellen was confused.

"Our moms made us smoke outside." Mike clarified.

"Your mothers know you smoke?!" Kurt was incredulous.

"Well yeah." Quinn frowned. "Why wouldn't they?"

"To be fair, my mom doesn't know I smoke." Puck pointed out. "It's illegal here."

"Right!" The Fabanges nodded.

"You guys have trippy rules." Karou stood up to get a puff.

"Do you smoke?" Anna asked Mercedes.

Who nodded. "Yes."

"Why aren't you smoking with them then?" Brittany wanted to know.

"I'm not as nervous as them. I have faith in you guys."

"What are you guys so nervous about?" Karou inquired.

Marcy told her in Japanese.

"Oh! Yikes!"

"Yup!" Mike blew out smoke. "Last puff. Who wants it?"

"Who has it worse?" Quinn queried.

They all looked to Marcy, who scowled. "Fuck you!" She took it though.

"That was relaxing while it lasted." Mal blew out a breath.

Marcy shut the door after flicking the last bit of paper over the wall. "This is bullshit. I want something else."

"Marcy, we have to tell." Chided Mercedes.

"You gon stop ruining my fun! We are going out! Saturday! So get yourself ready for it!"

"Marcy, I don't want to go out-"

"I don't care! We're all going! It's going to be dancing and drinking and revelry had by all!"

"But-!"

"You're leaving Rae with Marionette! You're coming out! I'll find a rave with hookah."

"Hookah?" Mercedes brightened.

"Knew that would capture your attention…"

"You really smoke that stuff, Mama?" Puck grinned.

"It's good! Don't mock me, Noah!" Mercedes frowned cutely.

"I'm not! Much…"

"I will take you to the carpet!"

"I'm sorry, Mama." He crashed next to her and kissed her cheek.

"I forgive you. I'll party this Saturday if you all will just sit down so we can get this meeting started."

"Ugh!" Mal groaned.

"Shut up, Mal!"

"Mean witch." He flopped down.

She gasped.

"Shut up, Mal!" Quinn snapped.

He stuck his tongue out. "You shut up!"

"Oh my goodness!" Marcy held her head. "How about you all shut up?!"

"Are we telling or what?" Mike picked up his food. "I'm starving."

"It's from the grass." Artie teased.

Mike waved him away.

"What's your news, Mercy?" Sam asked.

Mercedes took a deep breath and let it out. "We're mentally ill."

"You say it so clinically." Marcy raised a brow. "Like it's the flu."

"Well what other way am I supposed to say it?!"

"We're crazy." Marcy stuck her spoon in her mouth.

"Marcy, don't say that!"

"Why?" Mal pressed. "It's true."

"We are not crazy! We just have issues."

"What's the difference?" Mike grumped.

"We're not violent." She sniffed.

Everyone looked at Marcy, who scowled. "Oh, bite me!"

"What does mentally ill entail?" Tina asked.

"Different disorders for each of us but all eight of us share some things. Depression, anxiety, OCD." Mercedes listed.

"What about you, Noah?" Anna asked.

Puck groaned/growled. "I got some of that."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Kurt was hurt.

"It's family business." Quinn lifted her nose. "No one's supposed to know."

"Are you ashamed?" Rachel asked softly.

Quinn hunched her shoulders.

"You know I have my own issues. You helped me get help. You talk me through them. Why haven't you said anything to us about your problems? I would have understood."

Quinn had nothing to say.

"Don't you trust us?" Ellen asked.

Mal slapped a hand over Marcy's opening mouth. "Of course we do but it's not in our nature to share."

"You share with each other." Tina pointed out.

"That's what we were taught." Mike shrugged. "Family means everything."

"How crazy are we talkin?" Santana wanted to know.

"No, Santana. That wasn't that insensitive." Marcy mocked. "Anybody could ask such a stupid question."

"That was so rude, Santana!" Rachel frowned.

"San!" Brittany disapproved.

Artie chuckled. "You sure know how to piss people off."

Santana sulked. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant- well I don't get it. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with us!" Quinn and Mercedes yelled.

"Strike two!" Marcy bit off.

"Thanks, Tana." Mike pouted.

"Real nice, Satan." Puck glared.

"Ouch." Mal was hurt.

Santana threw up her hands. "Somebody else talk!"

"Why are you so offended?" Sam asked.

"Why can't you read?" Marcy spat.

His mouth fell open.

"Marcy?!" Ellen put a hand on her arm. "You hurt his feelings!"

"Now he knows how we feel." Marcy sat back and crossed her arms.

"What can we ask without you being upset?" Tina asked carefully.

"Nothing." Quinn crossed her own arms. "This was a big mistake."

"Nice going, Mercy." Mal sighed.

"I'm sorry, guys." Mercedes said sadly. "I thought they'd be better."

"We are!" Brittany sprouted. "We're not trying to hurt you!"

"Yeah, guys." Finn added. "You can depend on us. We got your backs."

"Sure." Puck snorted.

"Puck, we've been friends since first grade. Why wouldn't I have your back?"

"You're you."

"I've always been a good friend to you. I thought." Finn was wounded.

"Nah, you have. That's not what I mean." Puck sighed and ran a hand through his Mohawk. "It's just this isn't easy on me. On any of us. We got issues and we know how to deal with that. You don't."

"Because you're not giving us the chance!" Tina took Mike's hand. "Let us be there for you."

Mike looked at her. "Putting up with us is hard."

"We've been doing it this long."

"We hide things from you." Mal pointed out.

"Don't." Ellen wrapped her arms around one of his. "We may not understand but we care about you and will try to lift you up."

"Diva, we clicked from the first time we've spoken." Kurt started. "Queen, you've never picked on me. Mike, you've always been a gentleman towards me. Little Diva, you were always a light shining for me and Mal, you were a prince. And Puck, you barely bullied me then switched it around entirely. You're my friends and my family. I will always be there for you. Through whatever you go through."

Blaine took his hand. "Kurt's, right. You guys were a closeknit group and let me in without a thought. I will always appreciate it and you. And Marcy, you know you're close to being my very best friend ever."

"Hey!" Sam whimpered.

"Sam!"

"I'm a little hurt, too." Artie fake sniffed.

"Guys!" Tina was not amused. "Marcy is my best friend and I'm sure I'm hers-"

Karou lifted a brow.

"And so is Mercy and Quinn. Mike is my very best friend and the love of my life. Mal and Puck are my friends, too. I would never hurt any of you. I'm here for you."

"So am I." Ellen squeezed Mal and looked at Marcy with soft eyes. "I'm in love with you both and your family and friends opened their hearts to me when I was the new girl, the outsider. I've only ever had two friends and now I have many more. I'll never do anything to diminish that."

"Neither would I." Anna lifted her chin. "I was miserable for months without all of you but especially you two. I love you with my whole heart. And Marcy, you know you are my best friend. You saved my life. I owe you everything."

"I have my own issues so I cannot mock or deride anyone for a mental illness." Rachel's hair swung as she spoke fervently. "I love you and Finn more than myself-" She took Quinn's hand. "And I'll never let you down. Mike and Mal have always been sweet to me, even when I wasn't to them and Marcy never let me get away with being poison. She stood up to me and gave me a great gift. Honesty. Something I sorely needed when I was spiraling. And Cedes has been the greatest friend I've ever had. Sorry, Kurt."

"Alright." Kurt lifted a hand.

"You were always kinder to me than I've ever been to you and you stood by me until I got my act together, never expecting more from me than simple decency and friendship. I truly love you guys. I'll always be there for you." Rachel wiped away tears.

Finn rubbed her back. "Puck, we have been friends since we were six. I'm not going to throw that away for anything. Haven't I proved that when you helped not one but two girlfriends cheat on me, one of which you got pregnant?"

Puck nodded. "Yeah, man."

"Mike, we've been friends since we met the first day of school freshman year at football practice. You've never done a mean thing to me and have always been loyal and kind. I won't suddenly forget that now that I know you have an issue."

Mike smiled.

"Marcy, you are seriously one of the coolest people I've ever met. You're so pretty on the outside but on the inside are a real person. Someone who is so smart and I think might be better than everyone else. You're a drummer and even though you're so smart, you never make me feel bad that I never know what you're talking about. You just explain it as best you can so we can keep talking.

Nobody else explains things to me. Not even teachers."

Marcy lifted a brow.

"Mal, you're so awesome. I don't have a little brother but if I did, I'd want him to be like you. I'm jealous of Mike cuz he has two awesome brothers. He's so lucky to have you. And you're a good dad on top of it. Not many guys step up the way you did and keep doing every day."

Mal was surprised as evidenced by his slightly open mouth.

"Sadie, you were my first high school girlfriend. I thought you were one of the prettiest girls I'd ever seen and I was so happy you even paid attention to me. You were nice to me then and have only gotten kinder the longer we've known each other.

Even when I wasn't being fair to you or to your sister, you were kind to me. You might have messed up by cheating on me but you've more than made up for it."

Mercedes wiped away tears.

"And Quinn, I love you so much. You were my first love and after everything you've put me through, you don't think I'd stand by you? I won't pretend I understand what's going on with you but I promise you won't go through it alone."

Quinn swallowed hard.

Brittany took Mercedes's hand. "You have always been lollipops and sunshine. We've been friends since freshman year and you are always there for me. I'm so happy to be a mommy because you give me the confidence to do it.

You're the big sister and I know you say you just copy Laura but I think some of it is you. Your pure puppy power shines through in everything you say and do and makes me feel like I can do anything."

Mercedes leaned her head against the blonde's.

"Quinn, we've been friends since we joined cheer freshman year. I always enjoyed doing things with you, even if they were bad things because you were always a friend to me. It'll always be the Unholy Trinity."

Quinn touched Brittany's hand.

"Marcy, you're a queen through and through. You're like everyone's dad. The one everybody wishes they had? You are such a good mommy and you have the best ideas and you're not scared of anything. You talk to me and like Finn said, explain stuff. I didn't even know I could do math until you told me there are no wrong ways to do it and that teachers aren't paid to be brilliant.

I wouldn't have anything here, no place to live, no new opportunities or anything. I wouldn't even have my relationship, which is the best thing for me. I'm about to be a mommy and that might not have happened without you.

You're my rainbow. You're the Fairy Queen. You're my friend."

Marcy raised both brows.

"Mal, you're so sweet to me. You keep trying to find new ways for me to connect to everybody. You got me interested in classical music. I think Sadie and Quinn are so lucky to have you as a little brother. You pick on them but I know you love them very much and I always wished for that."

Mal smiled.

"Puck, you were always nice to me, even if all you wanted was sex. You protected me like a brother and we always got along. You knew how I felt being with the whole school and you never made me feel bad about it. You're my friend and I love you."

The corner of Puck's mouth kicked up.

"And Mike? You were my first high school boyfriend. The first boy to ask me out and expect nothing. You were always kind to me, before and after we got together. You're the sweetest guy I know and so special. You and Marcy are the only people who can dance as well as me. I'll always be there for my dance partners."

Mike put his hand on hers.

"I was an outsider at school until I joined glee." Sam shrugged. "I found my first love, some really great friends and my very best friend in the world."

"I see what you're doing." Blaine was not amused.

"We gon fight, Evans." Artie held up a fist.

Sam grinned. "She's my Batman Buddy. My other half. She literally helped me have sex for two years and might have just gotten me a real girlfriend."

"Good point."

"Mike, we clicked the first time I got to glee. We like all the same things. You might be older than me but we could have been born together."

Mike smirked.

"Mal, you might not trust me but I have the highest level of respect for you. You're a great dad and boyfriend. You made a mistake and you tried to fix it every day you could. You're a good man and you remind me of my dad, whom I admire with my whole heart."

Mal inclined his head.

"Puck, you might have stolen my girlfriend but you're still one of my best friends. You can't help who you love and you treat her how she deserves to be treated. It's all I ever wanted for her. Plus you play guitar like I do so I'm pretty sure that means we're brothers."

Puck raised a fist.

"Quinn, you're seriously one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen, in real life or otherwise. But you're a real person. You're smart and talented and funny. You're a good mom and very loving. Sometimes you remind me of my mom."

Quinn smiled.

"Mercy, as my first love, you hold a special space in my heart. I hold you as the ultimate girlfriend and as one of my first girlfriends, I compare everyone to you. Any girl after you is going to have some very big shoes to fill.

You're everything a human is looking for and more. As your friend, I feel blessed to have you in my life."

Mercedes wiped away more tears.

"And Marcy?" Sam looked her deep in the eyes. "We must have been separated at birth. You are my other half. As my best friend, I don't know how I survived before I met you. You've made my life so much better just by being you.

I don't even know how to be as good a friend to you as you've been to me. God got rid of the mold after you."

Marcy's lips twisted.

"Alright, my turn?" Artie placed a hand to his chest. "Queen, you have never done a thing to me. Even when I was some lowly geek and you were homecoming queen. You never made fun of me or did anything to dampen my spirit.

And then we got to know each other and you proved to be more than anyone expected. I'm glad to count you as a friend."

Quinn reached across multiple people to touch him.

"Mal, you're hella funny. You love your women with everything in you even though you fight with one til the cows come home. You are a kickass dad and the single greatest little brother I know.

I'm so glad I met you and got to know you as Mal and not Mike's little brother. You're a real person with real balls to let that near your junk on purpose."

Mal laughed as Marcy scowled.

"Puckasaurus, you taught me how to put my swag on blast and show not just people who know me but everybody how pimptastic I am. I'll never forget that, brotha. You a real one."

Puck fist-bumped him.

"MJ, you my wifey. I love how you get down but I love how you are more. You a good person through and through. Plus you got the pipes of an angel and we speak sweet, sweet music together."

Mercedes kissed his cheeks.

"Mike, you stole my old lady and I still roll wit you. That's how awesome you are. You're quiet but kickass like the ninja everybody thinks you are. You're my brother from another mother and I ain't gon turn my back on that."

Mike smiled.

"And Boo Thang? Girl!" Artie took off his glasses to wipe his face before replacing them. "I want to get up and dance with you, you're that important to me. You gave me not one but two loves and I'm having not one but two babies when I thought I'd end up alone.

You outrageous but you deep though. Nobody knows more than me how many layers a person's got but you're a thirty foot cake. I told you things I ain't told a soul and I know for a fact, you ain't told nobody and you were there for me. Why wouldn't I be there for you?

You my homeslice, my roaddawg. You my musical mistress. Don't nobody get me like you. Sam might be a pansy but he right. You my other half."

"Hey!" Sam frowned.

Marcy's lips twisted into a smile.

The others looked at Santana. "What?!"

"We've told them how we felt about them!" Tina hit her.

"I'm not like that!"

"Never change, Santana." Mike grinned.

"You can't say something nice to our friends that need us?" It wasn't a question and everyone looking at Brittany could tell.

Santana smacked her lips. "Fine! I don't like this though."

"I don't think she cares." Artie whispered.

She elbowed him in the chest. "Little Chang, you remind me of Gomez. I want to kill him most of the time and I see why Wheezy and Q want you dead."

"Santana." Brittany warned.

"It's a good thing, I swear! I don't say it a lot or at all but the little squirt is my everything. I helped change his diapers after all. So I get that little brother, big sister thing. Just seeing you with your sisters make me miss my idiot.

And you're a rockstar dad. You're just a squirt and you remind me of my Papí. Fair and reasonable. There for me for whatever. The twins are lucky to have you.

Plus you're hot so Patti and Elle Woods are lucky, too."

"What?" Mercedes, Quinn and Ellen looked at her.

Marcy's lips twitched madly. Mal blushed.

"Puckerman, you were always a great lay-" Santana continued.

"Where are you going with this?" Artie demanded.

She put her hand in his face. "I got off with you more times than any dude at McKinley. At least until Jimi. You get me on a level too dirty to discuss. We're the same and that means something to me."

Puck nodded.

"Chang, you were my first high school boyfriend. I never knew if I was manipulating you or not cuz you were always so nice until I got you in the sack. You got a streak a mile wide in you and I love it.

Getting to know you more these last couple years have been great because you aren't just a nice guy with a great dick; you're flipping amazing. Calling you a friend is a treat for me."

Mike cocked his head with a little frown. "Thank you?"

"Patti, I'm down for you like a rug. You hooked me up with the two people who care about me more than anybody else and you saw it before I did. You hood for a rich girl so you get me cuz I am, too.

You think about sex more than me, which is funny cuz that's all I think about. And you're hella funny. Everything that comes out your mouth is gold.

You're smarter than nearly everybody on the planet but you still can hang like anybody. I think your ego might be bigger than mine.

Plus you're too sexy. Sexing you up was an experience and if I didn't love Britts and Jimi so much, I'd fight Elle Woods and Little Chang for you."

Marcy looked at Ellen, who was not happy.

"Q, I've followed you since freshman year. You will always be the Unholy Trinity leader and I'd follow you to hell cuz you my homegirl. We click and you never treated me any different, even though I know you knew I was queer as hell. I know I can do this mom thing because you and your sisters are the best moms I know outside mine."

Quinn wiggled her eyebrows.

"Aretha, you know I want up on those lady lumps."

Mercedes smacked her hand.

"I'm serious! I just wanna lay on them! But I respect you too much to come at you like that. And I do respect you. Britt might be the first girl I've ever loved but you were the first one I ever respected.

You got class even when you need to be ghetto. You're a lady all day, everyday. You're smart but you don't lord it over everybody like a jerk. You're rich but you shop at thrift stores cuz you're not stuck up.

You're a real good person and that's hard to find, especially in our tiny redneck town. I met you freshman year on the volleyball team but I didn't know that you'd end up being my best friend.

But I'm glad you are. I'm going to hug you now." Santana had started sniffling and leaned across Brittany to hug Mercedes.

"Oh, baby." Mercedes rubbed her back and rocked with her.

Karou looked around. "You can't say you aren't loved."

"That's what this is?" Marcy lifted a brow.

They all looked at her.

"Tough crowd."

"We just get done telling you we love you and you make a joke?" Sam was offended.

"It's like you don't even know me."

He glared.

"What she means is we appreciate this, guys." Mike said.

"Is it?" Marcy asked.

Ellen stared at her.

"Fine. It is."

"Don't mind her." Quinn shook her head. "She didn't want to do this anyway."

"And you did?" Rachel led.

Quinn's eyes averted.

Mercedes laughed and let Santana go. "Well we're super glad you guys love us. We love you, too."

It was quiet.

"Right, guys?!"

"Yeah." Puck, Mike and Mal monotoned.

"Sure." Quinn nodded.

Marcy grunted.

Mercedes's expression was flat. "Forget them! _I_ love you!"

"That's all we need, Diva!" Kurt got up to hug her.

"Would you mind telling us what you have?" Rachel asked.

The six grew uneasy.

"We don't have to know." Finn backpedaled.

"You should know. So you can help us through episodes." Mercedes bit her lip.

"You can tell us one on one so it's not like you're telling a crowd." Sam suggested.

"Would that work?" Mercedes asked her siblings.

Three agreed and so did Puck.

"Marcy, why are you so difficult?!"

"Anything worthwhile isn't easy." Marcy lifted her nose.

The others burst out laughing.

"Now that we're all laughing-" Mercedes brightened. "Marcy, tell Ellen where you're sleeping."

"I thought you said she knew?" Marcy was confused.

"No, she knows you're not sleeping with them. Not where you are."

"You're not sleeping with us?" Mal was confused now, forgetting their conversation earlier.

"Nope." Marcy said nothing else.

He waved his hand. "Why not?!"

"Why do you think?"

"It's you! It could be any number of reasons!"

She pinched him. "I don't want to wake you up! I'm being considerate!"

"Why would you-? Oh! I'm sorry. I haven't even asked about that. Why don't you just wake us up? Or at least me? You know I always help you."

"I can't interrupt your sleep every night."

"Marce." He stressed.

She blew out a breath. "Fine. But when you get bags under your eyes, don't say a damn word."

"Can somebody tell me why you'd wake us up?" Ellen wanted to know. "What's going on?"

"I have night terrors, Elle." Marcy said patiently.

"I don't like nightmares." Brittany shuddered. "I get so scared."

"Not nightmares, Britt. Night _terrors_."

"What's the difference?" Finn freaked out.

"A night terror is a nightmare cranked up to eleven."

"How bad does it get?" Tina gulped.

"Pretty bad. I don't sleep well."

"Can't you do anything about it?" Sam asked.

"It doesn't work that way. I have no control in the dream. I can't even wake up until it decides it's finished with me. I usually have at least two a night and I usually don't even fully wake up between them."

"What do you dream about?" Anna asked.

"Any and everything. The only things off limits is anything that makes me happy."

"You can't go to sleep earlier or later to try to trick it?" Finn tried.

"I don't sleep like that. It's hard for me to get sleep because I have insomnia. And I'm a shy sleeper."

"A shy sleeper?" Blaine was thrown. "What's that?"

"I can't sleep if anyone else is awake. And I'm going to wake up before you, too."

"How do you not go crazy?" Santana gaped.

Marcy raised a brow. "I take medicine. I've got some powerful sleeping pills but I rarely take them."

"Why not?! I'd down half the bottle every night!"

"One, I got kids and I don't want to sleep through anything happening to them. Two, it doesn't stop the nightmares. I just won't wake up."

Ellen covered her mouth. "I am so sorry!"

Marcy lifted a shoulder. "It is what it is."

"How often do you sleep?" Sam wanted to know.

"I get a couple hours every night. I wake up multiple times during the night and it takes a while to get back to sleep and I never count when I'm having a terror. I don't rest much. But I do get in naps during the day. It's easier when the kids go down for me to join them."

Ellen took her hand. "How can I help?"

"There's nothing for you to really do. Just try to go to sleep fast at night and sleep a little longer in the morning."

"What about when you have a night terror?"

"That's tricky."

"Why?" Rachel was invested.

"She's usually fighting for her life." Mal explained. "She can get violent."

The girls gasped.

"We just try to wake her up as safely as possible." Mercedes said softly. "Hold her as she tries to forget it."

"A mug of coffee helps." Quinn added. "It'll put her back to sleep."

"She needs music." Mike went on. "You notice how she always had music in her room? It gives her great comfort. She needs to sleep with it on to even give herself a chance of a good night."

"Wow!" Artie was blown away. "This is real stuff. You have real… _stuff_ going on."

"It's not cute." Marcy shrugged.

"Is that why you're so crabby all the time?" Santana snapped. "You haven't had a good night's rest in forever?"

"Maybe?"

Santana saw she wasn't joking and her jaw dropped.

Ellen squeezed Marcy's hand. "Well I'm going to help you with this."

"Thank you." Marcy meant it.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew she wasn't sleeping with us?" Mal demanded.

"I did!" Ellen's mouth fell open. "You snapped at me!"

His eyes widened. "I would never!"

"Well you did!"

He gasped, taken aback.

Marcy leaned on Ellen. "When did you ask him?"

"A couple days ago." The redhead recalled.

"No, what time of day?"

"In the morning."

"When he first woke up?"

"Yes. I woke him up."

Marcy shook her head. "Mmm mm. Don't do that, baby. He's a dick when he wakes up. You gotta ask him stuff when he's wide awake."

"Hey!" Mal was offended.

"You are a cunt when you get woken up!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!" Mike and Quinn snapped.

Mal gave them dirty looks.

"He's where Mally gets it." Marcy pointed to her boyfriend.

"Mally cries every morning!" Ellen was shocked.

"Mal has to wake up on his own."

"What if he needs to be up?"

"I put a pillow over his face."

"It's hilarious!" Mike promised.

"No, it's not!" Mal bit off.

"Stop doing that to him, Marcy!" Mercedes lectured.

"Or you could kiss him awake." Marcy rolled her eyes.

Ellen smiled. "I'll kiss him awake."

"Suit yourself."


	3. Chapter 3

**_They're not screaming for no reason. The music is just loud. And the song Mercedes, Quinn, Marcy and Karou perform is *NSYNC's I Want You Back so if you want to listen to it during the partying scenes, go for it. See you next week!_**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

Sam had never been so nervous in his life! Why'd he let Marcy talk him into this?! He knew why. He could never tell her no.

He sighed before walking over to the spot Marcy had picked out for him to have his picnic with Khandi and setting down the basket he'd gotten from Mike.

He stood there wondering if he should just run when he felt a tap on his back. He whirled around. And suddenly forgot how to speak.

Khandi was standing there looking like a vision. She wasn't even wearing revealing clothing but a tee, jeans and long open cardigan sweater. But she looked so adorably nervous that his heart began beating erratically. "Hi."

He made a weird noise before gulping. "H-hi."

She blushed. "How are you?"

He just stared at her. _This is it. I'm going to love her._

She waved her hand in front of his face worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Uh- yeah!" He laughed loudly before wincing. "Um… would you like to sit down?"

"Uh, yeah." She moved her arms restlessly. She was totally nervous and didn't know what to do. She rarely went out and she'd never been on a picnic.

He spread out the blanket Marcy gave him and waved his arm. "After you."

She sank to her knees before sliding onto her bottom. She folded her hands on top of her knee, not knowing what to do with them.

He dropped down and continued staring at her before remembering his manners. "Are you thirsty?"

"Yes, please." She winced. _Smooth_ …

He opened the picnic basket and lifted out a bottle of sparkling apple juice before looking for cups. Marcy had packed the basket for him and he'd only peeked inside briefly so he didn't know everything inside. He found plastic champagne flutes. _She does have romance in her!_

Khandi accepted a flute from him and held it up after he filled his own. She waited while he searched for an appropriate toast.

He opened his mouth. "To enjoying each others company for an afternoon."

She smiled and tapped his glass with hers. "Cheers."

Both took sips but Sam stared at her the whole time, freaking out because he knew he'd have to stop drinking at some point and make conversation. He'd _never_ been good at talking to girls. Mercedes was the first girl to not laugh in his face when he spoke.

Khandi avoided looking at him. Could he tell she'd only had two boyfriends in her entire life? Was it stamped on her forehead that she was woefully unprepared to talk about anything with a boy she hadn't known her whole existence?

He downed the rest of his drink and was going to speak when he accidentally burped. He was mortified…

Her lips twitched until she giggled.

He was shocked! She was laughing?! "You think that's funny?"

"I'm sorry." She tried to stem her chortles. "It's just that that was pretty weak."

He was startled into laughing. "Ouch!"

He didn't mind a girl that didn't find belching gross? She was surprised by him. "Any baby could beat that."

"I think I hear a challenge!"

She giggled. "Oh no. I couldn't."

He looked at her with a smile.

Her lips turned up. "Okay, just one. Just to show you how it's done."

He waved a hand and leaned back.

She gulped down the rest of her juice and held up a finger before opening her mouth. A long, loud burp erupted like bass dropping in a hip-hop song.

He clapped. "Pretty impressive."

"Thank you. I have a lot of boy cousins and they're all gross."

He chuckled. "They taught you well. But I can beat that."

"Show me what you got."

He grinned before pouring more juice then gulping it down as fast as he could. He could feel it in his nose. It was going to be a good one. He opened his mouth and let out a loud burp that he had to beat on his chest to get it all out.

She squealed. "That was amazing!"

He flushed. "Thanks."

"What else do you have in your basket?"

He looked in the basket and began pulling stuff out, hoping against hope that she wouldn't ask him to name anything.

She watched him silently, finally relaxing. _Maybe this won't be so bad? Maybe I won't have to kill Jade for making me go through with this?_

He opened a large bowl. "Salad?"

"Do you think that just because I'm a girl, I like salad?"

He paled. "No!"

"Relax." She laughed. "I'm kidding."

He glared at her playfully. "You're bad."

"I'm a bit naughty." She admitted.

He thought about how much he liked it in Marcy. "I can live with that."

She smiled. "What kind of salad?"

His eyes widened and he sweatdropped. "Oh, just salad. It doesn't have a name."

She lifted a shoulder carelessly. "What's that?"

"Dip." Sam sorely hoped so.

"Please tell me it's not hummus. I hate it so much but Jade swears by it."

He took a discreet sniff. "Nope! It's French onion."

"I guess you're not planning an end of the date kiss." Did she really just say that?!

His brows lifted. "Oh- I- uh-"

"I'm- I'm just joking." She said quickly, blushing to her roots. _Just kill me now!_

"Oh." He relaxed. "I have chips for the dip if you want some."

"Thanks…" She mumbled. _I am so lame!_

He looked for plates and utensils in the basket and found them. He gave her a bit of dip and jostled out some chips before giving her the plate. "Tell me what you think."

She picked up a chip and dipped it in the dip before biting into it. "This isn't French onion."

"It's not?" He stilled, eyes wide.

"It's got onions in it." She inspected the dip left on the piece of chip she had left. "Do you just not know the difference between onion dip and a dip with onions in it?"

He gulped. "Yeah."

She shrugged. "I really like these chips. They're thick. Did you make them yourself? I don't think I've ever seen a chip this thick before."

"Uh, yeah." _You can make chips at home?!_

"Well it's delicious."

"Thank you." He grinned.

"So you have salad and chips and dip?"

"No, there's this." He picked up a container. He had no idea what was inside and was even more confused when he opened it. "It's cheese, meat and crackers."

"You made a tiny cheese-plate?"

"Yes?"

"That's so cute!"

He smiled beautifully. "Thanks!"

She sipped her juice. "The juice helps with the onion breath."

"I'm sure you're fine."

 _I'm sure **you're** fine_. She smiled at him.

He looked in the basket and pulled out another container. His eyes widened when he opened it. This was why Marcy was his best friend! She'd dipped cherries in chocolate and sprinkles, leaving the stems on for easy portability.

"Are those cherries? I love cherries! They're the best fruit!"

Sam stared at her as his heart tried to break free of his ribcage. _I will marry this woman!_ "Yes!"

She picked one up and ate it. "Wow! That's so good! And they're so cute! I never would have thought of sprinkles!"

He didn't know what to say to that so he ate one, too. And promptly started drooling. A simple dish that tasted oh so good. "Here's a napkin for the pits."

"Thanks." She took it and delicately spit in it.

"Are you very hungry? Do you want some salad?"

"Yes, please. I haven't eaten all day."

Sam couldn't say anything because Mike had made breakfast. He devoted his attention to serving the salad but it was weird. The lettuce was on the bottom and the mixins were on top. Then he realized it was a layered salad. _I'm an idiot…_

"It looks good." She inspected it when he handed her plate back. "I see eggs, bacon, cheese, chicken and what dressing is this?"

"I don't know." He admitted before lying partially. "I never named it."

She tasted it before her eyes widened. "Oh wow! It's really good! I taste onions and peas. I should eat more vegetables but this seems like a good way to get it."

He agreed once he tried the salad. He didn't much care for salad (his mother made the same exact salad every time she made it and he always scraped in onto his father's plate when she wasn't looking) but this was great.

"You're a really good cook." She complimented him. "My sister always cooked for us so I don't know what I'm doing in the kitchen."

He stared at her, debating telling her the truth.

"What's wrong?"

"Look, you're a real sweet girl but-"

"You don't see this going anywhere?" She guessed sadly.

"No!" His eyes widened. "That's not it! I didn't make this!"

"What?" She was a little behind, still thinking he didn't want her.

"I didn't make any of this. I don't know how to cook. I barely know how to eat."

"Then who made it?"

"Marcy." He flushed guiltly.

"Oh."

"She was just trying to help. She knows I can't cook and wanted to impress you."

"Do- do _you_ want to impress me?"

He nodded. "I do."

Warm feelings overtook her. "Honesty is impressive."

"Really?" He felt hope blossoming in his chest.

"Yeah. She's a good friend and you're a good person. I like that in a guy."

He smiled. "I try not to lie a lot. It don't sit right."

"Good. Just so you know, I try not to lie, too."

He smiled at her brightly. "Then let me say that I think you're very pretty."

She blushed. "Thank you. I think you're very handsome."

"Thank you. So tell me about you. You can't cook and you don't like salads?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Sam walked into the den, intent on playing video games to let his mind wander after his incredible date but the room wasn't empty.

Mike, Blaine, Puck, Finn, Artie, Mal, Marcy and Karou were there.

"Hey, guys!" He flopped onto a seat.

"Well?!" They shouted.

"Well what?"

"We not down here for our health!" Marcy snapped. "How'd it go?!"

He smiled goofily. "I like her. I really like her."

The boys started cheering and teasing him.

"This sucks!" Karou sulked. "I should have snapped you up when I had the chance!"

"Shut up!" Marcy pushed her over before focusing on Sam. "Pace yourself, Youngblood. Don't start talking about commitment yet."

He flushed. "I won't."

"When are you going to see her again?" Mike wanted to know.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I said I'll call her soon."

"We're going out tomorrow night. Invite her to that." Marcy suggested. "It'll be a great no pressure date."

His brows lifted. "Hmm. Okay. I don't know where we're going though."

"Give her my number and tell her to text me. Tell her to invite her friend."

"Why?" Mal demanded.

"Because Jude likes her and I'm inviting him. Why? Jealous?"

"You do this on purpose."

"Sometimes I do." She admitted.

He didn't expect that and just stared at her.

She turned to face Sam. "Call her tonight. She'll love to hear from you, especially so soon."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes frowned as she posed and twirled in her mirror in her vanity.

Puck had been watching her unknowingly for a minute and did not know what she was doing. "Mama?"

She jumped. "Ah! Noah?!"

"What are you doing?"

She frowned, upset clear on her features. "Do these shorts make my butt look big?!"

His mouth fell open. "Are you pregnant?!"

"What?! No! Why would you say that?!" She was shocked from her dilemma.

"The only time you asked me impossible questions was when you were pregnant with Rae."

She made crying sounds. "I am fat!"

"Mama?!" He was taken aback.

She wailed as she crumpled towards the ground.

He ran to catch her and held her tight. "You are _not_ fat! You just lost a bunch of weight so if anything, you're too skinny!"

"Tell that to my butt!" She sobbed into his chest.

He looked over her shoulder and saw that bottom well. His mind started to wander and he had to shake his head to come back. "Your ass is great! It's so perfect!"

"You just want me to stop crying."

He sorely wanted her to stop crying but that didn't mean he was lying. "That's not true! Mama, I love your ass. I used to fantasize about it all the time and the first time I got to touch it was the best day of my life."

"Really?" She looked up at him.

"Really." He cupped her behind and jiggled it. "Your ass is the stuff of dreams. I especially like when you let me play with it."

She blushed. "Noah."

"I do. You've got one of the best asses I've ever seen on a person. You in the hall of fame."

"Oh, Noah." She buried her face in his chest with a smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mama." He held her close before backing up slightly. "Why were you freaking out?"

"I wanted to wear these shorts but I think they make my butt look big. Are you sure they don't?" She turned around and stuck her bottom out.

His mouth watered. "Nope! You're fine! So fine…"

She breathed in relief. "Now that I have bottoms, I need a top."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes and her house's occupants left their home and went across the hall to knock on the door.

It opened immediately.

"Hey!"

"What's up?" Marcy twisted her leg.

"Hi, Tia May!" Beth rubbed her eyes, trying to stay awake.

"Hey, Betty." Marcy picked her up. "Ready to see your cousins?"

"Yeah!"

Marionette walked up with the twins, who began shouting now that Beth was there.

"She's already had her bath." Quinn told Marionette, gesturing to Beth's pyjamas. "She can play for half an hour then it's time for bed."

"Yes, Ms. Quinn." Marionette bowed her head.

Marcy set Beth down. "Alright, let's go."

Mickey attached herself to her mother's leg. "Mommy!"

Marcy bent over to kiss her cheek. "Go play with Bro-Bro and Beth. I'll see you when you wake up."

Mickey giggled before launching herself at her dad. "Daddy!"

"Hey, Mick!" Mal swung her up into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his head. He couldn't breath but he didn't care. "Daddy go?"

"Yeah, Daddy's going. You're going to have fun. You'll see."

Mickey waved to Ellen. "Bye, Mama."

Ellen's heart melted. "Bye, sweetie."

Mal set her down and Mickey went to her twin, who waved his parents off.

"Bye, Mommy! Bye, Papa!" Beth waved before all three ran deeper into the apartment.

Mercedes gave Raven to Marionette. "She's fed and changed but she needs to eat in three hours."

Marionette took the sleeping baby. "I will, Ms. Mercy."

"Have a good night." Marcy told her before turning to the others. "Let's hit it!"

Brittany cooed as she watched Marionette go find the kids. "I can't wait for this! I'll have two babies to hug and kiss and call me mommy!"

Artie rubbed her back. "You're going to be great at it."

Santana hugged her. "I can't wait either."

It was dead silent.

Santana turned on Artie. "What are you trying to say?!"

"I haven't said anything!" His eyes widened.

Puck, Finn and Mal snickered as she hit him and called him names in Spanish.

Mercedes rolled her eyes and got a good look at her sister. "What are you wearing?!"

"Clothes!" Marcy snapped.

"Are you sure?!" Mercedes waved a hand at the oversized black hoodie. "I can't see anything else! How short is your dress?!"

"And why are you wearing knee high chucks with it?!" Quinn put her hands on her hips.

"Oh no, I'm not doing this." Marcy refused.

"When we came into the closet to get ready, she was already wearing the hoodie." Ellen told.

"She won't let us see!" Mal was put out by it, too.

"Be glad I'm wearing clothes at all!" Marcy set off down the hall.

Quinn scoffed. "We are!"

"I'm not." Puck whispered to Finn, who blushed.

They rode the elevator down and waited for Mike, Blaine, Sam, Tina and Kurt. Karou was already there and flirting with a night watchman.

"Karou! What are you doing?!" Mercedes bit off.

Karou smacked her lips, rolled her eyes and walked over. "You are no fun."

"I am so fun!"

"Act like it." Marcy muttered as she sat on the row of wall seats by the post boxes.

Mercedes was so offended. "I'm telling Laura!"

"Snitch!" Marcy and Karou said.

Quinn looked away.

"Lucy?" Mercedes pouted.

"You're not a snitch, Mercy." Quinn wrapped an arm around her twin.

"Yes, you are." Mal crashed next to Marcy.

"Shut up, maggot!" Both Leos yelled.

"You're prissy, too!"

Marcy clapped a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh but Karou didn't have that decorum.

Mercedes and Quinn were super upset at Mal (and Karou). "I am not!"

"And snobby." Mal went on.

Mercedes gasped, hurt. "You think I'm a snob?"

"Mercy?!" Quinn pinched her.

Mercedes jumped. "No! I mean- I- you think I'm a snob?!"

"Now you've made the infant cry." Marcy drawled.

Mercedes pouted at her but Marcy just stared at her, dead-eyed. She dropped her head, disbelieving her siblings thought so little of her.

"You're not a snob, Mercy." Quinn rubbed her arms. "I'm telling Mikey!"

"Why can we never get along?" Mike's voice came from behind them.

"Mal called Cedes a snob." Rachel told.

Mike's eyes narrowed. "You twerp! Don't call her names!"

"Shut up!" Mal spat.

"Don't worry about him." Mike hugged Mercedes. "I'm going to beat him up soon."

"He called Lucy a snob, too." Karou wanted to start some stuff.

Mike's eyes widened and he grimaced.

Quinn pouted at him. "Mikey, you think I'm a snob?"

"Of course not. Mal's going to go missing anyway."

Puck and Finn exchanged looks.

Mal scowled. "I'm not scared of you!"

Mike shook his fist at him and he hid behind Marcy. "I thought so, punk!"

"Oh whatever." Marcy rolled her eyes. "Are we all here so we can go? I don't want to be in you peoples company all night."

"Hurtful!" Sam frowned.

Marcy stood up and walked out. They quickly followed.

"Do you know where you're going?" Mal questioned as he caught up to her.

"To the subway."

"And?"

"And we'll ride the subway."

"Why are you like this?"

"Why are you like this?!"

Ellen walked between them. "I thought tonight was supposed to be fun?"

"I know where I'm going." Marcy glared.

"Okay."

"Yeah right." Mal sneered.

Marcy turned to him but Ellen turned her back.

"Is it bad that I love when they get like this?" Santana whispered.

"It's my favorite show." Puck chuckled.

Mike's mouth twitched. "They fight too much."

"But it's like watching a housewife show or something." Artie grinned. "That girl could argue with a wall."

"And win." Karou smiled. "That's my CC."

"She needs to work on her temper." Mercedes stuck her bottom lip out.

"I don't like when Marcy's mad." Brittany said. "She looks so sad."

"How can you be mad and sad at the same time?" Finn asked.

"Her sad face is under her mad face."

He blinked, stunned and still confused.

Rachel bit her lip as she patted his hand. "I think they're wildly passionate."

"I just don't want their fire to consume them." Mercedes worried.

"We can't live their relationship for them." Mike told her.

"I know. I just want them to have a happy life."

"That's what Ellen's for." Quinn reminded her. "She helps them remember they love each other."

Anna looked at Blaine, remembering the relationship workshop from the year before.

He obviously remembered, too because he took her hand.

"Well they're not arguing now." Kurt pointed out.

"For now." Mercedes remarked.

"We'll just keep them separate all night and by the time we let them near each other, they'll miss each other too much to fight." Mike suggested.

Tina smiled. "I'd miss you if we were separated all night."

He wrapped his arm around her. "That's how I know it'll work."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"We're lost!"

"Get bent!" Marcy snapped back.

Mal crossed his arms. "You never know where we're going!"

"I'm never doing anything for you again!"

"This night out was for you!"

"I'm never _going_ anywhere with you again!"

"Harpy!"

Mike fell out laughing as Quinn giggled. Karou wiped away tears.

Mercedes gasped. "Marcy, stop that!"

"Oh shut up!" Marcy refocused on the map on the subway's wall.

"You stop that right now! Mal, are you okay?"

Mal was fuming. "I hate her sometimes!"

"I know, baby." She rubbed his back.

Ellen pouted. She didn't know who to comfort. "Are we almost there?"

"Yes." Marcy dragged her finger over the plastic.

"Yeah, right!" Mal sniped.

Marcy bared her teeth and jumped at him but Jude, who'd met them at the platform, grabbed her. "Dude, relax."

Marcy pointed at Mal and started yelling in angry Russian.

So Mal started yelling in Spanish.

"My goodness!" Santana sniffed, tears racing down her face in mirth.

"Damn." Artie's lips twitched.

Brittany frowned, not liking to see anyone fight.

Mike whistled. "Stop all that! Just sit down and be quiet!"

Marcy ripped away from Jude and sat down next to Ellen with crossed limbs.

Mal sat across from her and glared the whole time.

"Maybe we should try your idea?" Tina whispered.

Mike nodded. "You two are on a timeout."

Both protested.

"Nope! Timeout! You're going to sit down and be quiet for the rest of this train ride!"

"Mikey's right." Mercedes sat next to Mal. "You both need to calm down."

"Darn." Quinn shook her head.

Karou laughed.

"Lucy." Mercedes warned.

"I'm kidding." Quinn lied.

"Watch it or you'll be in timeout, too." Mike chided.

She poked her bottom lip out.

Kurt leaned over and whispered in Mercedes's ear. "Wow. Mike doesn't play."

"He's responsible for us since Marc's not here." Mercedes told him.

"So you're gonna treat him like your dad?"

Mercedes smiled. "Be good, Kurt."

"I don't wanna do that, Diva."

Mike whistled sharply when Marcy stood up. "Hey! You're in timeout!"

"It's time to get off!" She snapped.

"I wish I could…" Mal muttered.

Marcy had a strange look on her face before she burst out giggling.

Mal smiled. "What do you say?"

"Let me get some drinks in me and we can get down in a dark corner." She turned towards the opening doors.

"Yes!" Mal popped up and smacked her bottom.

Ellen was blood red. "Guys!"

"Don't worry." Marcy soothed. "We won't leave you out."

"Oh my goodness!" Ellen ran her hands over her hot cheeks.

Puck, Artie and Santana began catcalling while Karou wolfwhistled sharply.

"Just get off the train!" Mercedes spat waspishly.

The group got off the car and made it above ground.

"Where to now?" Artie pushed his glasses up his nose.

Marcy spun around a few times before doing it again with her eyes closed.

Mal put his hands on her shoulders and shook her. "Do you know what it looks like?"

"Yes."

"Go backwards. Retrace your steps."

Marcy made faces before opening her eyes. "This way!"

He turned her around and pushed her in the direction she was pointing.

"If you can help her remember, why do you yell at her?" Ellen demanded.

"I can't get frustrated?" He lifted a brow.

She narrowed her eyes.

He grinned.

Her angry face melted. He was so cute.

They followed Marcy around blocks and down streets until they could hear music pumping.

"You found it!" Artie yelped.

Marcy turned to him.

"Of course you found it!" He wheeled backwards nervously.

"Come on." She turned around again and marched forward.

There was a long line leading up to the door but she went right past it.

"Jude!" A voice called out.

Jude grabbed Marcy's hand to stop her and went a few places back in line. "Jade! Khandi!"

"Hey, Jude." Jade flirted.

"Hi, Jude." Khandi was amused by her friend. "Hi, Marcy."

"Hey." Marcy cocked her head. "Why are you guys in line?"

"To get in." Jade frowned in confusion.

"It'll be faster if you went up front."

"That's cutting!"

"I suppose so."

"You don't care." Khandi realized.

"I don't do lines."

Khandi and Jade looked at each other before facing her. "Wow."

"Come on." Marcy waved them on.

"Are you sure?" Khandi wasn't. She was a rule follower.

"Yes!" Jade pushed her forward. "Thanks, Marcy!"

Marcy pointed. "Sam has been waiting for this all day."

Since she wasn't remotely quiet, Sam heard and blushed. "Marcy!"

Khandi blushed. "I've been looking forward to it, too."

"Really?" He brightened.

"I am a queen." Marcy began walking again.

"You think you've done something." Mal teased.

She flipped her curly hair at him. "I have!"

"I think it's nice of you." Ellen said.

Marcy shuddered.

Mal snickered.

They got to the front of the line and Marcy walked forward.

"Hold on, Tiny Dynamite!" The bouncer halted her. "There's a line."

Marcy turned and unzipped her hoodie. "So?"

His jaw dropped as he took in her tight, extremely short blue jean shorts and formfitting red tank top.

"Marcy, you came outside like that?!" Mercedes was horrified.

Mal ran his eyes over her. "Yes!"

Ellen's jaw dropped. "Marcy!"

"Zip that back up!" Mike was mortified.

Marcy went up to the bouncer and put his hands on her waist. "Will you let us in?"

He nodded, dumbly.

"Thank you." She turned around and stuck her bottom out before walking forward, shaking her hips.

"Stop that!" Mike cried.

Mal ran over to her and plastered himself to her back. The others followed numbly.

Mike pulled her around as soon as they made it inside. "Who told you you could come outside like this?!"

She stuck her tongue out. "I did!"

"Zip that up!"

"Bite me!"

He let her go to try to zip up her hoodie for her.

She fought against him. "Leave me alone!"

He got the zipper up and she sighed. "Keep that up! I'll call Marc!"

"You're so annoying!"

"Why'd you have to cover her up, Mike?!" Artie protested.

Mike didn't find that funny. "You better not touch that zipper!"

Marcy folded her arms, angrily.

He zipped it all the way up to her neck.

"It don't matter!" Puck called out. "It's burned in my brain!"

Mercedes and Anna hit him.

"Ow! It is! Mini Mama lookin right!"

Kurt and Blaine nodded.

"I think you look hot, Marcy!" Tina teased.

Marcy winked at her.

Mike turned her around and pushed her to Mal, who wrapped around her like an octopus.

Quinn giggled. "I'm so proud of you, Marce!"

"Me too!" Karou whooped. "Wield that power!"

Mal tried to kiss Marcy but she evaded his questing lips. "Stop! I hear our song!"

"What song?!" He didn't care.

She pried him off of her and turned to their sisters and cousin. "It's a 90s party!"

The others stopped to listen to the song coming on.

Mercedes, Quinn and Karou screamed happily.

The DJ stopped the music and everyone turned to view them.

Marcy began singing and when he realized she not only knew the words but had a great voice, the DJ spun the karaoke version of the track.

When they were done singing and dancing (using old cheorgraphy), they posed as the old abandoned building clapped and cheered.

The DJ spun another 90s track and the crowd went back to dancing.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Anna was impressed.

"I can tell! Tonight's going to be great!" Mercedes was excited.

"I'm ready to drink!" Karou yelled.

"Boom!" Marcy pointed to a makeshift bar.

A woman walking by held out a tray with tiny plastic cups.

"What is it?!"

The woman began yelling out the different pills.

Marcy and Karou pick up a couple different ones and put the pills in their mouths before heading to the bar to get drinks to wash them down with.

"Got any E?!" Quinn asked.

The woman pointed it out.

Quinn grabbed two and gave one to Mercedes. Marcy and Karou came back with a bottle of tequila and handed it over. The Leos took the pills and knocked the glass back.

Mike and Mal reached for pills then took shots of tequila.

"Do you wanna dance or look for hookah?!" Quinn asked her twin.

Mercedes thought hard. "Hookah!"

"Yay!" The two raced off.

"You got your drink!" Mal pulled on Marcy's hand.

"Brotha, I said _a few_ drinks! I'll see you in an hour!" Marcy scoffed.

Mal was not happy.

Karou laughed at his face.

"Do you want something to drink?!" Marcy asked Ellen.

"What was that you just took?!" Ellen was blown away.

"A cocktail! Do you want it?!"

"I've never done drugs before!"

"You don't have to now!"

"I'll just have a drink!"

"What do you want?!"

"Anything with tequila!" That was all Ellen knew anything about.

"I'll be back!" Marcy pulled Karou off.

"Hey!" Mal yelled. "Get me bourbon!"

Mike took another gulp of tequila before grimacing. It wasn't his spirit. It was Mercedes'. "Who wants this?!"

"Yo!" Artie held out a hand.

Mike handed it over. "Wanna dance, T?!"

"Do you take pills often?!" Tina worried.

"Just at parties and everyday so I don't die!"

She wondered if he was joking but he didn't seem to be. "I'd rather dance!"

"Okay!" He lifted her by her waist and she clung to him. He slipped into the crowd.

"I can't believe Mama just left us!" Puck was mostly amused.

"Quinn is definitely loosening up!" Finn was just dumbfounded.

"I can't believe Quinn does drugs!" Rachel wasn't prepared to learn this of her girlfriend.

"They're rich!" Santana took the bottle from Brittany. "Rich people do drugs!"

"Do you do drugs?!"

"I've done drugs! Smoked a little weed and taken ecstasy!"

Brittany nodded. "I've never done it but I've been offered!"

"Well this is new to me!" Artie lifted a shoulder. "But I like to have fun and as long as it is fun, I'm down!"

"Hell yeah!" Puck swiped the bottle from Santana. "Where's that lady at?! E has to be good!"

"Noah!" Anna's eyes were wide.

"Relax, Kick! Everything is gon be fine!"

"Smoking weed was as far as I've done and I'm not going further!" Blaine shook his head.

"You've smoked weed?!" Kurt looked at him.

"No way!" Sam was shocked.

"I promised Marcy I'd try it if she told us how she got banned from Siberia!" Blaine shrugged. "It wasn't bad!"

Kurt's brows lifted. "Show me!"

"How?!"

"Check the outside of the room!" Mal suggested. "Anywhere there's a table!"

Kurt dragged Blaine off.

"Let's go get drinks then we can dance!" Santana suggested.

"You're not supposed to be drinking no way!" Artie accused. "Right?!"

"No!" Mal shook his head.

"Well we've already taken two shots!" Santana shrugged.

"We'll be good!" Brittany freaked out. "Let's just go dance!"

Artie wheeled them off.

Marcy and Karou came back. "Here's your tequila sunrise!" The blonde gave the redhead her drink.

"Thank you!" Ellen sipped it.

"Here's your bourbon!" Marcy handed it over.

Mal brightened.

"Hey, Mini Mama?!" Puck waved his hand. "You about to get messed up?!"

"It's a rave, dude! You gotta!" Marcy shouted back.

He whooped. "Where's the lady?! I wanna take E!"

She stood on her tiptoes but it didn't make a difference when most everyone was taller than her. "Come on! We can look for her!"

He was shocked that she reached for his hand but he took hers and let her pull him off.

Finn paced back and forth. "I don't know about this!"

Rachel rubbed his back. "Me either!"

Anna sipped the tequila and grimaced. She still wasn't used to alcohol. But she was supremely uncomfortable and she wished her spouses hadn't left her.

Thankfully Puck and Marcy came back quickly.

"Here!" Marcy handed Finn a pill.

"What's this?!" Finn took it.

"You need to loosen up!" She took the bottle from Anna and shoved it in his chest. "It's one pill, a few drinks and dancing! You'll be alright in the morning and you never have to do it again!"

He put the pill in his mouth and took a large swallow of tequila.

"It was Addy!"

"What?!"

"Adderall!"

"What's that do?!"

"You're going to be hyper focused as fuck!" Mal told him.

Finn's eyes widened.

"Finn!" Rachel fretted.

"You need to relax, too!" Marcy shook her head. "Go take a puff!"

"A puff?! A puff of what?!"

"Anything! Damn, girl! It ain't that deep! It's a party!"

"I'm not sure drugs-!"

"Are no different than alcohol!"

"But-!"

"Go!"

"Mary Jane?!" Another waitress came by with a tray. "Corndogs?!"

"Mary Jane please!" Marcy told her.

She handed over a blunt. "Need a light?!"

"No thank you, sugar!" Marcy took a lighter from her pocket and ran the chamber over the side of her shoe. It burst into flames and she put the blunt in her mouth to light.

Rachel was somehow shocked when Marcy offered it to her. "I don't know!"

"I do! Unbind your drawers!"

Mercedes and Quinn crashed onto the scene and Quinn squealed. "You're about to try for the first time?!"

Seeing the excitement on her lover's face sealed Rachel's fate. She took the blunt from Marcy and put the hard tip in her mouth. She inhaled and promptly began hacking.

"It's okay!" Quinn patted her back hard. "It's okay! Just breathe out your nose for a few seconds and try again!"

Rachel breathed through her nose (that was unpleasant) before trying again. Though she was by no means used to it, it was better.

"There you go!" Quinn brightened.

Rachel held it out. "I think I'm done now!"

"It's okay! You tried it! You don't have to keep doing it!"

"Do you want me to try it?!" Anna asked Mercedes.

"You don't have to but I think you'd like hookah a lot more than straight weed!" Mercedes took her hand.

"What's a corndog?!" Puck wondered.

Marcy grinned. "I see you can hang! You gon have a headache tomorrow morning!"

"That's the only way to tell you had fun the night before!"

"Oh Noah!" Mercedes shook her head with a rueful smile. "Be careful and you better not kiss no one else!"

"He took E! He's definitely kissin somebody tonight!" Marcy teased.

Mercedes made eye contact with him. "Noah, I'm not playing with you!"

"Promise, Mama! If I start feeling horny, I'll come find you!" Puck promised.

"It's not if, it's when!" Mal helped. "Marce, I'm done with my bourbon!"

"Let me get him started! I promise I'll be back but I'm telling you, after we come down, we're dancing and I don't want to hear you say nothing about not being able to dance!" Marcy threatened.

"Scouts honor!" Mal held up a hand. "Come find us by a table!"

Marcy didn't want to do that. She got lost easily and didn't want to spend the whole night looking for them. "Go by the bar!"

He lifted his cup. "Come on, Elle! I'll get a refill!"

Ellen followed meekly.

Marcy, Karou and Puck disappeared.

"Come on!" Quinn took her spouses' hands. "Hookah is amazing! My favorite flavor is peach!"

"Flavor?!" Rachel was confused.

Mercedes led her, Anna, Quinn and Finn into the throng.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm learning so many new things about my friends!"

Khandi blinked. "It's okay! Jade isn't a stranger to doing things!"

"Hey!" Jade was offended.

Jude smiled. "I took a cocktail! Do you want one?!"

"What's in it?!"

"It's just a mix of what you like! I can give you what I get!"

Jade bit her lip. She was used to weed and never faulted anybody for their choices but did she really want to do prescription drugs to impress her crush?

He smiled and rubbed her back.

Yes, she did! "Sure!"

"Let's find a waitress and then head to the bar!" The two walked off.

Khandi gave her bestie a long suffering look. Of course she'd go off with Jude to do heaven knew what drugs just so she could be with him. "I don't want to do any of this!"

"I don't think I do either!" Sam admitted.

Khandi was surprised. "You don't want to keep up with your friends?!"

"I'll probably do something one day! Marcy can talk me into anything! But I'm going to try to hold her off! Do you want a drink or is that pushing it?!"

She thought about it. She'd had alcohol at parties and she liked it well enough. "Yeah, we can!"

"Cool! What do you want to drink?!" He urged her forward.

She didn't know much about alcohol, only drinking what she'd been handed at parties, which thinking about it sounded like a good way to get date raped. "I don't know! What do you drink?!"

He grimaced. He knew next to nothing about alcohol. He only drank at parties and more recently since coming to New York. "I have no idea!"

They made it to the bar and bumped into Mike and Tina.

"Hey, guys! What are you getting?!"

"I'm getting a rum and coke!" Mike said. "I'm starting out slow!"

"What about you, Tina?!"

"I'm having Mike choose for me!" Tina shrugged.

"I think Jell-O shots will relax her!" Mike grinned.

Khandi's eyes widened. She'd had Jell-O shots before and they'd been pretty good. "I'll have that!"

Sam nodded. "Okay! I'll get that, too!"

The bartender was a tattooed, pierced emo girl with a half shaved head and a bored expression. "What do ya want?!"

"Three Jell-O shots and a rum and coke!" Mike shouted to be heard.

"What flavors?!" She began pouring Captain Morgan and Coca Cola into a red solo cup.

"Do you have strawberry?!" Tina asked.

She nodded before handing over the rum and coke. She reached behind herself into one of the coolers and took out a tiny plastic cup. "Want three?!"

"I'll take cherry if you got it!" Sam put in the request.

"Two!" Khandi held up two fingers.

She nodded before going to another cooler and taking out two. She handed all three over before moving further down the bar.

Tina took the lid off the cup. "It's so wiggly!"

"Yeah, just knock it back!" Mike sipped his drink.

Tina wrinkled her nose before tipping her head back and emptying the cup. It was a weird sensation trying to swallow yet chew at the same time. "Wow!"

"How is it?!" Sam wanted to know.

"It's strong!"

"It's just a shot of vodka!" Mike shrugged.

Sam made a face. He wasn't well versed in vodka. He faced Khandi. "Ready?!"

She nodded and opened her cup. "To having fun!"

Sam opened his and tapped it against hers before they both downed the red substance. "Wow! That is strong!"

Khandi pursed her lips. "Yep!"

Mike knocked back the rest of his drink. "Ready to get back out there?!"

Tina nodded.

Mike clapped Sam on the back. "We'll see you guys out there!"

The Asians disappeared.

Sam blew out a breath. "Want another one or do you want to dance?!"

"I'm not the best dancer!" Khandi blushed. "I know! A black girl with no rhythm!"

Sam fixed his face. "I can't dance either! At least that's what Marcy says!"

"She seems to be the expert! Did you see her moving earlier?!"

"She's good!" Sam would never say contrary. He knew he couldn't move that way.

"Who cares what other people think?! Let's dance!" The alcohol was hitting Khandi and giving her a sense of courage.

"Sorry if I step on your toes!" Sam apologized now.

"Sorry if I step on yours!"

He grinned. "Alright! Let's go!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes placed her hands on Artie's shoulders, scaring the crap out of him. "MJ! You scared the shit outta me!"

"Sorry!" She hugged him from behind. "We're going out for a early breakfast! Wanna come?!"

"Y'all think we wanna be stuck down here?! We don't even know where we at!"

She nodded. "Good point!"

"We're going for food?!" Santana let it be known she was paying attention.

"Yeah! Go outside! I'm looking for everybody! Marcy says if we're not outside in five minutes, she's leaving us here!"

"She's the only one who knows how to get back home!" Brittany fretted.

"Come on! Go outside!"

"Will we be safe?!" Artie looked down his nose at her.

"Marcy's outside!"

"Cool!" He began wheeling that way as Mercedes went off to find the others.

Santana and Brittany followed him until they got outside. There was still a line to get in.

Artie wheeled up to his musical mistress. "Hey! Where we goin?!"

Marcy turned. "To get food! I'm starving!"

"It's all that grass!"

"You gon keep saying that?!"

"You gon keep smokin reefer?!"

"Who says "reefer"?! It's not the 70s!"

"I say what I want!"

"I hope you ate a worm!"

"I didn't!" Though he'd drank his fill throughout the night and had a great buzz going on.

"I'll slip you one one day!"

He laughed. "What place are you trying to get to?!"

"Man, I want some Greek!" She rubbed her stomach.

"Yes!" Mike fist-pumped as he and Tina left the building. "I want a gyro!"

Tina hiccuped. "I want- I want food!"

"Tiny Dancer, are you okay?!" Artie got a good look at her.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm just a little dizzy!"

Mike had his arm around her and was literally holding her up. "She'll be fine! She just needs food and fresh air!"

"Man, food sounds great about now!" Puck shouted as he, Anna, Finn, Rachel and Quinn came outside.

"How'd you do?!" Artie jerked his head up.

"Man, I taste colors!"

"I've never had sex in public before!" Finn was still in a daze.

"Finn!" Quinn slapped his chest.

He flinched. "Sorry!"

Karou laughed. "Score one for the tall guy!"

"There's nothing like getting high and fucking!" Marcy was dead serious.

Mike and Mal hit fists.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tina narrowed her eyes.

Mike kissed her and she responded thoroughly.

Puck and Artie whooped, making her break away.

"Guys!" Ellen held her head. "You're so loud!"

"Somebody's going to need to lie down soon!" Marcy took her hand.

Ellen brightened.

Mercedes came outside with Sam and Khandi, the last of the stragglers. "We're all here! Let's go!"

"Where is the nearest Greek place?!" Artie asked.

"Greek?!" Mercedes clapped. "Yay!"

"Who said we were going to the nearest?!" Marcy lifted a brow.

"You're gonna make us walk?!" Santana was hurt.

"Unless you can fly, hell yeah!"

The boys fell out laughing but none moreso than Artie, who Santana hit.

"I wanna sit down!" Santana snapped. "I'm wearing heels and I'm stone cold sober while all you had fun!"

"One, I told your ass to take those heels off! You can't wear heels pregnant! It's a danger to your baby, you hardheaded brat!" Marcy started. "Two, it's not my problem that you're sober! Shoulda stayed home if you couldn't handle it! Three,-!" She pushed Santana and the pregnant Latina fell into Artie's lap.

Santana's mouth fell open. "You pushed me!"

"Did I?!"

Santana glared. "I'm going to get you back, Patti! I won't be pregnant forever!"

"You better hope you are!" Marcy turned and walked off.

"Did she just walk away from me?!"

"Who is you?!" Artie sassed.

She gave him a terrible look.

"The girl I'm madly in love with!"

"Who can stop touching him at any moment!" Puck whispered loudly.

Mike and Finn snickered.

"We should go before she leaves us stranded down here." Artie spoke normally as the song went down in volume momentarily.

Santana pulled Brittany down onto Artie's lap. "I'll let that go cuz you're drunk as a skunk."

Artie cleared his throat and began wheeling after his best friend.

Mike, Puck and Finn laughed as the others followed.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Wake up." Marcy whispered to Ellen.

The redhead breathed deeply and snuggled closer.

Marcy's lips twitched. "You won't get food."

Puck snorted awake. "Food?!"

Mercedes pulled a long suffering look. "You have a tapeworm."

"This is our stop." Marcy said loudly.

The others began stirring but Ellen was being stubborn.

"Mal, pick her up."

"I gotta lift a drunk girl?" Mal looked forlorn but he was amused.

Marcy shook her head. "I'm leaving all of you."

Mal stood up and lifted Ellen like a bride. "Let's go."

They left the subway and Mal had a hard time going up and still holding his slumbering girlfriend.

Marcy led them back to their neighborhood and to a Greek place that stayed open twenty four hours a day, six days a week. Luckily they didn't close until six in the morning on Sunday's.

They went inside and blinked at the bright lights. They went up to the counter, surveying the rest of the restaurant at the same time. It wasn't empty but it wasn't packed either.

Ellen groaned from all the jostling and lifted her head. "Mal?"

"Welcome, sleepyhead." He smiled. "Ready to walk?"

"Where are we?"

"The Pita Palace." Marcy told her.

"What's that?" Ellen blinked widely as Mal set her on her feet.

"Greek place."

"I've never had Greek."

"Want me to order for you?"

Ellen bit her lip. "Yes."

The woman behind the glass smiled. "What would you have?"

Marcy ordered for herself, Ellen and Mal before moving so Mercedes could excitedly go next.

The group moved through the line and found seating near each other and began talking about how much fun they'd had that night.

"Is it normal for my nose to burn?" Puck asked.

"What all did you take?" Mercedes asked back.

"Weed, that hookah stuff, E and a corndog."

"It's the corndog."

"What's in a corndog?"

Mike stared at him in astonishment. "You smoked something you have no idea about?!"

"Mini Mama said she had my back!"

"You better hope you don't get addicted to it."

"I won't!" Puck wasn't worried.

"Uh oh!" Marcy and Karou blinked.

"What does "uh oh" mean?" Finn worried.

"Overconfidence will fuck your life up." Marcy shook her head. "Especially with vices."

Puck felt an inking of fear.

"I told you drugs were bad." Blaine lifted a brow.

"Drugs are tricky. You might not be addicted to one thing but another will set you on your ear." Marcy shrugged. "Sometimes it'll get you on the first go round and others, it'll be your fifteenth year of doing it."

"So why do you do it?" Sam pressed.

"I don't have an addictive personality. If I ever think I might even maybe someday develop a habit, I'm cutting that shit off immediately."

Mal looked down with a smile.

"Why is that funny?" Now that Tina had food in her, she could think clearly.

"I'm just imagining her yanking out a nosehair."

Marcy erupted in giggles. "Boy, you stupid!"

He kissed her cheek then leaned back before she hit him. Except she didn't. "You must be drunk."

"Oh yeah. When we get to the house, I'm taking a bath to get this paint off and if you so happen to get in,…"

He closed his eyes and moaned. "Yes! Love Drunk!Marcy!"

Ellen blushed. "You guys are so dirty!"

"The bath will help." Marcy nodded as she sipped her drink.

Santana burst out laughing.


	4. Chapter 4

Mercedes wondered where Marcy was. She wasn't in the study, where she'd last seen her. She wandered all over until she got to the kitchen. "There you are!"

"Here I am." Marcy concentrated very hard.

"What are you doing?"

"Baking a pie."

Mercedes blinked. "You're not me."

"You don't have the monopoly on baking pies, Mercy!" Marcy sighed heavily.

"Don't I?"

Marcy shrugged lightly. "Well I'm taking over. I want to start baking more."

"Why? You hate baking."

"I-" Marcy almost told her the truth. "Mal likes sweets and we never get them. He looks at RT in pure jealousy sometimes."

"Because Tana and Britt buy junk food every Sunday?" On top of cleaning and church, the girls went shopping for food every Sunday.

"Yeah. I thought maybe I'd buy some things. Just to try them. We're adults now. We can do what we want. But I'm a bit apprehensive. What if that stuff's gross?"

Mercedes blinked. She'd never thought about it before. Buying sweets or how they'd taste. She'd had a Hostess cupcake once in her entire life and it'd kept her up all night and she'd thrown up.

"They can't be that bad." Marcy supposed. "Millions of people eat junk food every day."

"Maybe we should start eating more unhealthily? We're almost nineteen."

"Glob, you can never let me have an idea to myself."

Mercedes was unsure if she were joking as Marcy kept focused on her work. "Sorry. You just have good ideas."

Marcy didn't answer.

So Mercedes changed the subject. "What kind of pie are you making?"

"Salted Caramel Apple." Marcy layered on the top.

"Ooh! Can I taste?"

"You'll have to wait until after dinner."

"What are you cooking?"

"I have to cook?!" Marcy looked up with a frown.

"Marcy, are you not cooking?!"

"I'm not doing that crap!"

"Eating out is only going to be a burden! It's really unhealthy!"

"Who said I want to be healthy?!"

Mercedes blew out a breath. She was only making Marcy madder. "I just think the twins want you around for a while."

"I'm not going anywhere. No matter how hard I try…" That last bit was muttered.

Mercedes stared at her, visibly uncomfortable. "I'm done with the twins' lesson."

Marcy dusted her hands. "Want wine?"

Mercedes thought it was an insult and was going to leave, hurt.

"Mercy! Do you want wine?!"

Mercedes jumped. "Oh! Yes!"

Marcy opened an oven and stuck the pie in before going to the fridge for a bottle of white wine. She grabbed two wineglasses from the cupboard and poured generously. "Here."

"Are you okay?" Mercedes asked carefully.

"I'm fine. Ellen was the one so hungover yesterday that she slept most of the day."

Mercedes almost corrected her from thinking she meant from Saturday night but realized she didn't want to fight. "Noah was a mess. Coming down was not fun for him."

"Corndogs." Marcy held up her glass.

Mercedes touched it with hers. "I know. I wish I could have warned him."

"He's a big boy. He makes his own choices."

"How was Mal?"

"Before he came down or after?"

"Before…" Mercedes said slowly.

"He was like Sully. Would not stop humping me."

Mercedes didn't know how to take that. She was used to the two of them disappearing together when they were drunk or high to have sex but she didn't know it lasted so long. "And after?"

"Reacted like a vampire when I opened the curtains before I got dressed. He wasn't even awake and started hissing like a cornered cat."

Mercedes's lips twitched. "Poor baby. He seemed alright at church."

"Took three aspirin. I told him he better not take anymore or that headache would be the last thing he felt."

"I had to take two. I haven't drank much since before I got pregnant with Rae. I smoked a bunch of hookah, too."

"I partook. Mixed a bunch of different flavors…" Marcy wasn't sure that was a good idea when she'd hit upon a dangerous (nasty) combination.

"I stuck with grape. But my mouth was super dry when I woke up yesterday."

"I totally get it. I was so dehydrated, I kept flicking my tongue over my front teeth like a crackhead."

Mercedes broke out in giggles. "I wasn't that bad."

"Count yourself lucky." Marcy smirked. "Going into work later?"

"No. I have a shoot."

"I got one tomorrow. New deal with this bookstore franchise. You?"

"Remember how I wanted Sketchers? I got it."

"That's great! Did Bernie do some fast talking or did they just see your past stuff?"

"I have no idea. I didn't hear her after she said I got it. I was too busy screaming."

Marcy smiled. "That's how I felt with that Charms deal. By the way, lollipops are flippin amazing."

"I'm going to try one soon. Any flavor recommendations?"

"Green apple or watermelon." Marcy said immediately.

Mercedes giggled. "Will do!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mike set his toolbox down in its correct space before going to wash his face and hands. Some tenant on floor two broke a pipe in their kitchen when they'd tried to fish a diamond ring out after they accidentally dropped it.

It'd been gross work since their pipes had bits of food stuck in it. The apartment building had only been finished for two months; how on Earth did a person do that much damage to kitchenware in so short a time?!

He sighed and went to the fridge after washing up. He grabbed a beer and went to the den, where he was building something. He had no idea what. He just decided to get building and figure it out later.

He had plenty of time on his hands. Fixing stuff around the building wasn't very time consuming and he had time to spare. Most of his friends worked most of the day and the only person he saw was Puck, who split his own time between his kids and video games.

Mike loved video games but didn't like playing alone unless he was upset and needed space. But his mood was even and he was feeling alright after recuperating from Saturday.

He'd gotten up for church feeling like death warmed over but after brunch, he'd come home and slithered under the covers. The best thing about having sisters was they'd do stuff for you and thankfully he didn't have to go food shopping.

But it was Monday now and he had energy to burn. His mind was clear and he wanted to do something.

So he got started hammering. By the looks of the piece, it could be a storage box. All it needed was hinges. He tapped in the last nail before going to a large toolbox-esque storage unit and grabbing two hinges and exchanging his hammer for a Philips screwdriver.

Sam's dog ran in and began yipping.

Mike raised a brow. He'd had to take to keeping his door closed or the mutt would come inside and try to destroy anything his little teeth could reach. "Go away."

The dog barked and went to the cupboard(?).

"Shoo!" Mike waved a hand.

McConaughey went around the box and barked again.

Mike sighed. "Where's your owner?"

The brown canine walked up to Mike and stood on his foot. Then laid down!

Mike raised a brow. "Really?"

"You're bonding with McConaughey!" Sam's voice drifted to Mike.

McConaughey stood up before scampering over to his master.

"Hey, boy!" Sam petted him.

Mike shook his head. Dog owners were so affectionate. He went to the box and began screwing on the hinges. "Keep him away from me before I barbecue him."

"I thought it was just a hurtful stereotype?!"

"I never said _I'd_ eat him."

Sam gulped.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Are you okay?" Ellen asked.

"I'm fine." Marcy rubbed her stomach.

"You look pale."

"I do not."

"You look sick, BT." Artie tacked on.

"Bite me!"

"Cool!"

Brittany hit him. "Are you sick, Marcy?"

"I'm not sick." Marcy denied. "It's probably just cramps."

"I never thought I'd be happy to be knocked up at nineteen." Santana shook her head. "Thank everything that's gone for a few months!"

"Your first after you give birth is a bloodbath." Marcy said flatly.

Brittany eeped.

"Can we change the subject?!" Artie turned green.

"Does menstruation gross you out, Artie?" Mal taunted.

"Doesn't it gross you out?!"

"No. It's a part of a woman's life."

"Man, you and your brother make me sick! Be base!"

Mal snickered. "Want me to bring you Ginger ale home when I get back from shooting?" That was to Marcy.

"If you don't mind." Marcy bent over the counter.

"Mommy sick?" Mickey asked.

"Mommy feels like she's dying."

"Are your periods that bad?" Brittany wanted to know.

"They're murder. But luckily they last no more than seven days."

"It's the cramps that get me." Santana shook her head. "No bueno!"

"No me gusta!" Marcy agreed.

"Maybe I can bring you something from the bakery?" Ellen suggested.

"Eat the rest of the pie you made yesterday." Brittany beamed.

"What?!" Mal, Santana and Artie didn't like that plan.

"Guys!" Ellen swatted Mal.

Mal groaned. "Okay!"

"I don't want the pie, Mal." Marcy gave him a bald look.

He tried not to look relieved. "It'll be totally okay if you did."

"Get me some _Ben and Jerry's_."

"Yes, ma'am."

Brittany clapped. "What can I bring you?"

"I'm fine, Britt. Just go to work." Marcy shook her head.

"You can't even straighten!" Ellen protested.

Marcy stood up straight, her insides cursing every bit of the way.

Ellen narrowed her eyes. "I wish you'd take care of yourself."

"I have a photo shoot today. I don't have time for this."

"As exciting as that is, you need to care for yourself."

"I'll come straight home after and rest. I'll even rest before then."

"You will?"

"Yes. Look. I'm getting the hot water bottle and once you all leave, I'll park it in front of the TV. Promise."

Mal approved, shocked she'd promised. "Good. Are you too sick to kiss us?"

"Get away from me."

He walked up to her and held her gently but firmly and planted a kiss on her that he knew she couldn't escape from.

She was less than amused when he let her up, knowing he knew she didn't like public displays of affection.

He grinned before kissing the twins then Ellen. "See you in a couple hours!" He sped out.

"Well I gotta go." Artie said. "Come on, Britt."

Brittany hugged Marcy quickly before kissing Santana and waving goodbye to Ellen and the twins. She followed Artie out after he kissed their girlfriend and said his own goodbyes.

"Can I get a kiss?" Ellen asked.

Marcy stared at her.

"Please?"

"You got two seconds."

Ellen popped over and made the most of her two seconds before hugging the twins and waving goodbye to Santana.

Marcy finished cleaning up and went to release the twins from their bondage (their highchairs).

The twins hugged her legs before running out, probably to tear something up.

She put their dishes in the dishwasher and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"I thought you didn't like bottled water?" Santana quipped.

"It's expensive pond water but I'm thirsty and I don't have Ginger ale." Marcy walked out slowly.

Santana followed her. "What happened to the hot water bottle?"

"When are you leaving?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"Go early."

"Nah. I want to bother you."

"You won't be pregnant forever."

"You're hurt. You can't do anything anyway."

"Periods don't stop nothing but a sentence."

Santana grinned. "What are you really about to do?"

"Get the water bottle!"

Santana's brows raised. "Really? You must be in pain."

"It must be pretty where you live."

Santana's mouth fell open. "Did you just call me stupid like I'm the Jolly Finn Giant?!"

Marcy stayed quiet as she went to the bathroom and grabbed the hot water bottle. She filled it with hot water and left.

"I'm tired of you not saying stuff!"

"You'll live." Marcy went to the study and set the bottle behind her as she sat in her chair.

"Shouldn't you be lying down?"

"I have work to do. Life doesn't stop just because you feel like your insides are being carved out with a rusty spoon."

"Good point. Well I'm gonna go. I don't want to be late for these brats."

"You have the mothering instincts of the witch in _Hanzel and Gretel_."

"I know that's an insult but I never read that book so I don't care!"

"You should. Your children will take after them."

Santana made faces at her back before leaving. "Good luck bleeding!"

"Drop dead, skuzz!" Marcy heard Santana walking away then the front door opening and shutting.

She got to work, ignoring her screaming insides. She almost didn't hear Mercedes come in. "Hey."

"Should have known I couldn't sneak up on you."

"Course not."

"I'm going to give the twins their lesson but I can't stay after. I got a shift at work. Some guy-"

"Go, Mercy."

"Thanks!"

Marcy worked in peace until Mercedes left then she put her work away. She'd finish it after she came back from her shoot.

She left the study and went to make food for the twins to take to the park with them. She packed a diaper bag full of snacks then went to give the bag to Marionette before kissing the twins goodbye.

The trio left so she went back to the kitchen to whip up more pies. She made three different kinds. One went in the icebox but she kept two on the counter because she wasn't going to have enough time to bake them before she left.

She had some time to kill before she had to change so she got on the couch with a mug of tea and that hot water bottle. She curled up in fetal position and tried not to cry.

She had a low pain threshold and it was really working against her. Twenty minutes passed and she almost burst into tears at the realization that she had to get up.

She moved slowly, feeling like something was wrong.

She inched out and walked towards the stairs when everything in her flashed red warning signs. Something told her to get out, to get help.

She changed direction and went towards the front door while pulling out her phone, to call somebody (she didn't know who) for help.

Her legs buckled and she went down hard. She moaned in pain and tried crawling forward but it just made spots dance behind her eyes. But she kept going, having a feeling that if she didn't, she'd never move again.

Unfortunately she only made it a foot before passing out.

Secret, Sully and Ecru came from upstairs and nudged her. When it became apparent that she wouldn't get up, they began howling and scratching at the front door, taking turns watching over her prone body.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Puck was super bored. "Want to play a different game?"

Beth shook her head. "I want to color."

"We can do that." Anything to get his mind working.

They got up and he picked up Raven. They travelled upstairs to Beth's room and she got out her coloring books and crayons.

She sat at her table and opened a book. "You take this one, Papa."

"Okay." He sat down tiredly and set Rae between his legs.

They got to work coloring and he could find himself relaxing. He was a little surprised. He hadn't colored in years and had forgotten how fun it was.

His picture was of a sports car and he chose his favorite color (red) to paint it. "Let me see how you're doing."

Beth shoved over her picture of a tea-set.

"That's so nice! You're good at this!"

Beth giggled. "Can Rae color?"

"I don't think so, Lil Bit. She might try to eat one."

"Like now?"

Puck looked down and sure enough, Raven had grasped a crayon and was aiming for her mouth. He yanked it from her. "No!"

Raven started crying.

He rocked with her. "You can't eat that, Rae. You can get sick."

Raven wailed.

Beth got up and came over to rub her back gently. "It's okay, Sissy. Crayons are yucky anyway."

Raven calmed down. Her mouth moved and she blew a bubble.

Puck took the pacifier attached to her shirt and stuck it in her mouth.

She leaned against him and closed her eyes.

Beth kept rubbing her back before yawning. "I think I'm sleepy, Papa."

"It's about time for your first nap, ain't it?" Puck stood up and led her to her bed.

She climbed inside and laid down.

He kissed her head before leaving and putting Raven in her crib in her room. He went back to the den and got comfortable. He almost picked up the controllers to the video game that sat idle but he didn't want to.

Instead he closed his eyes and soon he was asleep.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Santana waved to the security officer on duty. She didn't know any of their names yet but knew she would soon. She wasn't that bad with names.

She went to the elevator and rode it up to the sixth floor before walking down the hall to 6C. She heard barking as she unlocked the door.

She was completely unprepared for what she saw.

The dogs bombarded her and tried to push her inside.

She ran forward and sank to her knees. "Patti?! Patti?! This isn't funny! Get up!"

Marcy remained unresponsive.

Santana pulled out her cell phone and called 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" A voice spoke.

"Hello?!" Santana's voice shook. "My friend! She won't wake up!"

"Is she breathing?"

"I don't know!" Santana panicked.

"Take a few deep breaths. In and out."

Santana took two deep breaths.

"Now put your two fingers on the base of her throat. Right on the side."

Santana felt Marcy's neck. "Now what?"

"Do you feel anything?"

"It's really light."

"Okay, what's your address?"

Santana gave it. "Apartment 6C."

"An ambulance is en route to your location. I'll stay on the line with you until they get there."

"Okay." Santana was thoroughly freaked out.

Secret and Sully came over and licked her tears away. Tears she hadn't known she was shedding.

She pushed them away slightly. She welcomed the comfort (she wasn't even a dog person) but she was afraid of them suffocating Marcy.

Before long, there was noise at the door. "In here!"

Two EMTs came in with a stretcher. "What happened?" One asked.

"I don't know. When I came home, I found her like this." Santana told him.

"Does she have a history of fainting?"

"I don't think so."

"Is she sick? Have any allergies?" He rattled off as his partner checked Marcy's vitals.

"I- I don't know. I mean she was complaining about cramps earlier. She said she was on her period and that it hurt a lot."

"Would you like to ride to the hospital with her?"

She nodded mutely.

"Okay." He went to his partner, who'd tried chest compressions on Marcy to no avail. "How's she looking?"

The shorter man looked to a stricken Santana and whispered. "Her pulse is thready and she's barely breathing. We need to get her to the hospital fast."

The one who'd spoken with Santana nodded before both placed Marcy on the stretcher.

Santana followed and made sure the dogs stayed inside. She went behind them as they got on the elevator. They rode it down and went outside to the waiting ambulance.

They all got inside and it took off.

The kind paramedic (not to say his partner was harsh) sat next to Santana. "Can you give us any more information?"

"Like what?" Santana stared wide-eyed as the shorter EMT hooked up IVs to Marcy.

"What's her name?"

"Marcy but I call her Patti."

"That's different. Why?"

"Because she sings like Patti LaBelle."

"Oh really? Is she a singer?"

"Dancer."

"How'd you meet?"

"She transferred to my school a few years ago."

"So you've known each other for a while?"

"Yeah. We're close- what's he doing?!"

He shushed her gently. "He's trying to get her to breath."

"What if she chokes on that thing?"

"He can always take it out if she starts breathing on her own."

Santana bit her bottom lip in fear.

He could see she was getting whipped up again. "Where'd you both go to school?"

"William- William McKinley High School. It's in Ohio."

"I come from Ohio, too. Dayton."

"Lima."

"We're not that far from each other. What's your favorite part of Ohio?"

"The exit sign."

He chuckled. "I was ready to leave, too."

"We're here." His partner cut in.

He nodded. "We're going to wheel her in. Stay back and let the staff take control. Okay?"

Santana nodded.

"Okay. Let's go." The two EMTs burst out of the back and wheeled Marcy inside. Santana followed, careful to not be in the way.

She was a little out of her element when they began telling the staff the situation. She didn't understand all the jargon (she should have listened to her parents!) but she knew it was dire because everyone looked dour.

A nurse stopped her from following them through the OR. "You can't go beyond this point."

"But-"

"The waiting room is this way. How about I bring you some juice and crackers and you can watch TV. There's forms to fill out."

Santana stared at the swinging door and let the woman pull her away. She'd forgotten all about the woman on the phone.


	5. Chapter 5

Mercedes, Quinn and Mike rushed through the hospital doors. They began talking all at once.

The nurse at the help desk whistled. "One at a time!"

Mike spoke. "We're looking for our sister, Marceline Anne Taylor-Jones. She came in from an ambulance."

She checked her computer. "She's in surgery right now. Take a seat in the waiting area."

"Surgery?!" Mercedes and Quinn freaked out.

Mike wrapped his arms around both. "Can you have the doctor come tell us anything when he gets a chance?"

The nurse nodded. "I can do that."

"Come on, guys." Mike led them to the waiting area. He spotted a still Santana and went over to her. "Hey? You okay?"

She looked up, stress clear on her features. She sniffled.

"It'll be okay." He soothed. "She's a fighter and nothing can stop her. She'll be fine."

She nodded, not looking very reassured.

"You two sit here." Mike set his sisters down. "I'll wait for Mal outside."

Mercedes sniffled loudly when he left. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Santana whispered. "She was just on the floor when I got home."

"How was she earlier?" Quinn questioned. "Did she feel well?"

Santana shook her head. "No. She said she was on her period. I thought she was okay."

"She was in pain earlier and you just left her?!"

"Lucy!" Mercedes took her hand.

Santana slumped.

"Sorry but she's in the hospital! Again!" Quinn shot up and began pacing. "She's in surgery for who knows what! What are we going to say to the twins if she doesn't live?!"

Mercedes got up and hugged Quinn tightly. She pressed her forehead to her twin's and looked her deeply in the eye. "She will live. She has to."

Quinn shook, dire thoughts running through her head. "What if Tana hadn't come home?"

Mercedes shuddered. "Don't say that!"

"I almost didn't." Santana mumbled.

"What?"

"I was going to go get something to eat when I threw up at work so I came home to lay down."

Quinn gulped. "See?! Marcy would have been there for ages! Dying!"

Mercedes started crying. She didn't even mean to but the images Quinn was putting in her head freaked her out.

Quinn began crying as well, not able to handle her emotions.

Tears slid down Santana's face as the enormity of the situation hit her (not that she had thought it a walk in the park before).

When Mike came back with Mal, all three were sobbing. The brothers looked at each other with matching grimaces.

Mike started rubbing body parts, just trying to provide comfort as he was wildly _uncomfortable._

Mal hugged Mercedes and Quinn. "Now you know Marcy is too mean to die. Satan doesn't want her overthrowing him. He's going to make sure she lives a long life."

Quinn chuckled by accident and sniffed. "She'd take over in less than a day."

"That's because my little sister's power hungry." Mike boasted.

Mercedes smiled. "She's always talking about taking over the world."

"She's going to do it, too." Mal was confident. "Leader of the world. And I'm going to be her husband."

Mercedes cupped his chin. "You are."

Quinn messed with his hair. "You better keep her pregnant every so often so there isn't a revolution."

He grinned. "I can do that."

Mike shook his head before taking Santana's hand and patting it.

Santana linked their fingers and squeezed. Until Artie and Brittany came, she'd draw on his strength.

Mal kissed his sisters' cheeks. "It might be a while before Ellen and the kids get here. Want anything from the cafeteria?"

The Leos looked at each other. "Juice."

"Got it. Santana?"

Santana blinked. She couldn't even think about food! Her stomach rumbled. Maybe she could? "I don't know. Chips."

"Come on, Mike."

Mike exchanged his hand for Mercedes's so Santana could cling to someone. He and Mal left.

Quinn sat on Santana's other side and took her free hand. "Have you told anyone else?"

Santana shook her head. "I just called you four. I actually called Elle Woods, too but she didn't answer. You guys did."

Mike was at home (as usual), Mercedes had her phone on her (per usual), Quinn didn't care about her job so she always answered and Mal kept his phone on him at all times because of the twins.

"We should call the others. They'll have a fit if they can't wait with us." Mercedes took her phone out and dialed Puck's number.

Quinn pulled out her phone and dialed Finn's. She was able to catch him and told him what happened and that he should get Rachel at the theater.

Mercedes told Puck what was going on and for him to bring the kids while she called Anna. He agreed and they hung up so he could get Beth and Raven ready.

"I'll call Britt." Quinn said.

"I'll call Artie." Mercedes nodded.

So they did. Brittany had started crying immediately while Artie was in disbelief. Both promised to get there as soon as possible.

Mercedes called Sam, Jude and Kurt while Quinn called Tina and Blaine. All five promised to come quickly. Both Sam and Tina had panicked while Blaine had sounded hurt beyond belief.

Mercedes and Quinn looked at each other. "Who's going to call Rou? I'm not doing it! You do it!"

"Why don't you want to call your cousin?" Santana sniffed loudly.

"She'll have a heart-attack that something happened to Marce." Quinn extolled.

"Someone's gotta tell her."

Mercedes deflated. "I'll call her."

"Good luck." Quinn raised her brows.

Mercedes frowned at her before dialing her cousin's number. "Hey, Rou?"

"Yeah?" Karou responded. "What's up?"

"It's Marcy."

"She make fun of you?"

"No. What? No."

"You pissed her off and she's not talking to you?"

"No." Mercedes was starting to get angry.

"You do push her buttons-"

"Marcy's in the hospital!"

It was quiet before… "What?"

"Marcy's in the hospital. We don't know what's wrong. She's in surgery."

"Wha- what hospital?"

Mercedes told her. "Get here as soon as you can. We're in the waiting room."

"Okay." Karou hung up, verbally shaken.

Mercedes put away her phone. "That was unpleasant."

"How'd she take it?" Santana asked.

"As well as expected but at least she didn't cry."

"Like we're doing?"

"She's our little sister; we deserve to cry."

 ** _M-A-P_**

The waiting room was crowded. It was a busy day but today was special because it had teenagers new to New York in it.

It was getting dark and they were getting antsy. They'd still had no word from the doctor.

"Mama, you gotta sit down." Puck protested.

"I'm fine." She said absently.

"Quinn?" Rachel asked tentatively.

"I'm okay." Quinn shook her head.

"Let's go for a walk." Mike suggested.

"Mikey,-" Both put up a fight.

"Yes, let's go for a walk. You need fresh air. Mal's here. She's going to want to see him first anyway."

"She doesn't even like him." Quinn returned.

"Go outside." Mal was not amused.

Mike took his sisters' hands and led them out.

"Don't you hate how he can get them to do stuff we can't?" Puck drawled.

Finn rubbed a hand over his head. "He's magic."

"He's their brother." Anna didn't know how sibling relationships worked but her spouse's and her siblings seemed to be everything she'd ever thought they'd be.

"So's Mal but they hate him." Puck pointed out.

"Puck, now's not the time to make jokes." Rachel admonished.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Just be quiet."

He glared at her.

Anna took his hand. "It seems insensitive."

He sulked.

 _ **M-A-P**_

"I'm going in there!" Mercedes declared.

Mike picked her up. "You can't make a scene!"

"Yes, I can!" She fought against him. "I want to know what's going on! It's been hours!"

He took her to Puck and set her in his lap. "I know you're freaking out but stop. It's not helping her."

"They can't do this to us!"

Mike turned and caught Quinn, who was trying to sneak past. "No! We're going to sit here like adults and wait for someone to come!"

"You're so bossy!" Quinn shouted.

He looked at her, incredulous.

Mercedes raised her eyebrows.

He got huffy and set Quinn on Finn. "Do not move."

Quinn realized he was serious and crossed her arms with a pout.

He sat next to Tina, who took his hand.

Someone walked into the waiting room. It was a doctor. He was covered in blood and was taking off his mask. "I'm looking for the family of Marceline Anne Taylor-Jones."

They all looked over but Mike, Mercedes, Quinn and Mal ran over to him.

"You're her family?" He looked skeptical.

"Yes!" They shouted. "What's going on?!"

He sighed. "Her appendix burst."

"Burst?" Mercedes's eyes filled.

"Yes, it was infected and ruptured. The infection spread and her organs started shutting down."

Mercedes and Quinn started crying.

Mike wrapped his arms around both. "But she's fine now. Right?"

"It was a difficult surgery but she's resting now. She'll be sore for quite a while and she now has a new battle scar."

"When can we take her home?" Mal asked.

"She'll need to be here for a few days at least. We want to monitor her and make sure the infection is completely gone and she needs to recuperate."

"Thank you. For everything."

"You're welcome."

"Can we see her now?"

The doctor thought about it. "Five minutes should be fine but she really needs rest. We got to her in time but fifteen minutes later and it would have been a different story."

Mal gulped. "Thank you."

"I'll show you to her room."

The whole group followed him, which shocked him that there was so many people. They took the elevators to the fifth floor and went through a maze of hallways to get to Marcy's room.

He knocked gently before opening the door. "Marceline Anne? I've found your family."

Marcy breathed deeply and opened her eyes.

The group rushed forward, pushing the doctor out of the way. He backed out to give them privacy.

Ellen burst into tears and threw herself across Marcy.

Marcy winced from the pain. Ellen was across her middle.

"Elle." Mal lifted her up and sat her in the chair by the bed. "How are you, Marce?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Mercedes picked at the covers. "I could fluff your pillow or get you another blanket-"

"I'm fine."

"Thanks for scaring us to death." Artie quipped.

"That's your problem."

"We were worried to death over you and it's "our problem"?!" Quinn was offended.

"I didn't ask you to come."

Mercedes put her hands on her hips. "We came for you! We didn't know what was going on!"

Marcy just looked at her.

"You're ornery." Karou commented. "You're fine."

"I am. Go home."

"What?!" They couldn't believe her.

"Go home." She repeated.

"We're not leaving you up here by yourself!" Mercedes told her.

"Good heavens, leave me alone!"

"Mini Mama!" Puck was shocked.

"Shut the fuck up! And get out!"

"Marce! The twins!" Mal pointed to the two, who were staring at their mother in fear.

"They'll learn it one day anyway."

"Come on, Marcy. You don't really want us to leave, do you?" Sam hoped not. He'd been worried sick and had prayed since he'd gotten the call.

"Why wouldn't I want you to? Go home."

"Maybe you guys should just come back in the morning?" Mal suggested.

"Not just them. You, too." Marcy burst his bubble.

"What?!"

"Go home! Take my children home."

"Marce,-!"

Mike clapped a hand to his shoulder. "We'll get out of your hair."

"I guess we'll see you in the morning." Ellen sniffled as she wiped away tears.

"You can stay." Marcy said.

Mal looked at her, truly hurt.

"I can?" Ellen blinked, happiness growing within her.

Marcy nodded. "The rest of you can get to steppin."

"I can't believe we rushed here just for her to be so rude." Blaine shook his head.

They moved out slowly, Puck and Finn having to pull Mercedes and Quinn.

"Tana!" Marcy barked.

Santana jumped. "What?"

"Wait a second." The others looked between them. "Bye! I said Santana!"

They stomped out.

Santana watched them go then looked at Marcy when the door shut. "Yeah?"

"Thanks." Marcy told her.

"For what?"

"They told me you found me. That couldn't have been easy. Thanks for calling 911."

Santana nodded. "You're welcome."

"Now go home. You need rest."

Santana didn't think she'd sleep again but she left without another word.

Ellen leaned against the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Would you ask the nurses for a glass of apple juice?" Marcy asked.

"Sure." Ellen kissed Marcy's cheek.

Marcy waited for her to leave before lying back. She'd only been awake for ten minutes before they all came in and she'd learned what happened to her.

But of course in Marcy fashion, she couldn't deal with it so she didn't. As far as she was concerned, nobody had to talk about it at all and as soon as she left the hospital it'd be like nothing ever happened.

She closed her eyes but all she could see was herself crawling towards the door, thinking she'd reached the end.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"She's so awful!" Quinn ranted.

"She did almost die." Finn pointed out.

"She could let us protect her! But no! She has to be super rude and kick us out!" After leaving the hospital, everyone had gone home.

Mercedes cited a headache and promptly went to bed. Quinn put Beth to bed with Puck's help then came upstairs to pace and spit fire about her little sister.

Finn and Rachel had found her angrily fussing to herself and had since been trying to calm her down.

"Isn't it proof that she's fine that she's angry?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, that's her default!" Quinn swung around. "The only time she has _ever_ been nice was when she was pregnant!"

Finn shrugged. "Maybe she was just tired?"

Quinn glared at him.

"I'm just saying." He lowered his eyes.

Quinn went to the bed and climbed in before throwing herself back dramatically.

He sighed. It was going to be one of those nights. Both Quinn and Rachel lived for the flair and it gave him hives. But he loved them so he put up with it.

Rachel took his hand and squeezed it before going to the bed. She climbed in beside Quinn and laid down beside her. "It's okay to cry."

Quinn sniffled. "I know."

"It's okay to be scared."

Quinn sniffled again as tears slid down her face into the sheets.

"She's your little sister and you almost lost her. You have the right to be upset."

Quinn reached out and grabbed Rachel's hand. Her shoulders shook as she cried heavily.

Finn hated to hear her cry. That broke his heart. He'd thought once upon a time that she was too rigid and controlled, that she needed to show more emotion. Once she let him in, he realized she felt more than anyone ever knew and it hurt him deeply to see her in pain.

Rachel squeezed Quinn's hand and let her cry. She knew fear and hurt. She knew Quinn had been terrified to learn her sister was in the hospital and knew she was hurt that Marcy didn't seem to care.

Finn climbed in the bed behind Quinn and wrapped his long arm around both.

They stayed like that until Quinn cried herself to sleep.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Are you sure you're okay?" Tina asked quietly.

Mike nodded as he blew out a lazy stream of smoke.

Both were in his bed. She was watching him smoke weed while he stared at the wall unseeingly.

She pulled up the strap of her nightshirt and scooted closer. "I understand."

"You do." It wasn't a question but it definitely didn't sound like he was agreeing.

"I know I don't have siblings but I'm close to Marcy. She's one of my best friends. If anything would have happened to her,…" She began crying to her horror.

He wrapped his arm around her. "I keep telling you guys that she's strong. She's not going anywhere."

"Fifteen minutes, Mike. Fifteen minutes separated her from death. How-? I-"

He kissed the side of her head. "Do you want a puff?"

"Mike."

"It'll calm you down."

She looked up at him and saw his pain in his eyes. She nodded.

He handed her the blunt and she took a pull. He took it back and laid his head against hers. "She's strong."

She cuddled up to him, feeling the marijuana calm her down. "She's strong."

"She's not going anywhere."

"She's not going anywhere."

He kept repeating the two affirmations, not just for her sake but his own sanity.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Hey, man. You alright?" Artie wheeled into the den.

Mal looked over before facing the TV again. "What are you doing up?"

"San couldn't sleep so I made her warm milk. It took a minute to kick in but she's conked out now. Britt cried herself to sleep."

"Stress is bad for the babies."

"I spent a while talking her out of a tailspin but I'm worried about San. She's way too quiet."

"It's a messed up thing to go through."

"I keep trying to picture what she saw. It freaks me out and I'm only picturing it."

"Not everyone can handle it. I'm glad she was able to keep her head and call 911."

"Yeah. I was almost out a best friend." Artie looked at him. "Sorry."

"Hey, I was almost out a soulmate so I get it."

"You still haven't told me how you're holding up."

"I'm fine."

"You Fabanges hate being vulnerable, don't you?"

Mal frowned. "That's her!"

"She was clearly freaked out and exhausted but she couldn't just tell us that."

"She had smudges under her eyes." Mal hyper-focused on the glowing screen.

"And she was pale. Didn't know black people could get colorless."

Mal was quiet.

"But she survived."

Mal nodded.

"You'll have time to spend with her. Make her know she's loved."

"Yeah. Loved."

Artie chewed on his tongue. "You don't think she loves you."

"I know she does. She doesn't let herself."

"But you wish she would have wanted you to stay up there with her instead of Elle Woods?"

Mal dropped his gaze to his lap. "That's ridiculous. We're in a relationship together. We're all equal."

"Yeah but you two have a special relationship that can't be compared. San and Britt have it. Something that even true love can't touch. It doesn't mean that you and Elle Woods or her and Elle Woods don't have something real, just that your bond isn't to be messed with or underestimated."

"And you can stand that?"

"I understand it. I would never try to get between them. It's one of the things I love about them. Their pure love for each other."

"You're way more mature than we give you credit for."

"I see things. Spent a lot of time people watching when I got this chair."

"You ever gon tell us how you got in the chair?"

"Boo Thang and Mike know."

"Not even Santana and Brittany?"

"Not a conversation I like having."

Mal was quiet for a while. "I used to wait for her to come home like a kid waiting for Christmas. She was always the best present I could get. I hated when she went away. Most people thought it was because she was my protector but I didn't care about other people.

I knew how to fight my own battles. I just wanted her."

"Now you got her."

"Do I?"

"Of course you do. You said it yourself. You know she loves you."

"Yeah but she's drifting further away. Something's bugging her and she won't talk to me."

"She has been pissy lately."

"Lately? It's been months. I don't know what to do. I know confronting her only backs her into a corner but how long can this go on?"

"Maybe somebody else needs to talk to her? Someone who won't react when she snaps on them?"

"Maybe Jude will talk to her? She always trusted him."

"That don't make you jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous of Jude?"

Artie didn't know how to say it. "They're really close. Sam's totally jealous. He thinks she's replaced him. Plus you're mad jealous of her and Sam."

"I am." Mal admitted. "I think it's because she was attracted to him at one point. I don't know where her head is at when it comes to him and he doesn't always look at her like a friend."

"Neither do I." Artie pointed out.

"Santana and Brittany would put you in the hospital."

"Good point. But he's starting to see that Khandi chick."

"He saw plenty of girls. With her help. He always ended up alone, buzzing around her."

"So if he and Khandi go the distance, you'll relax?"

"I think I'll always wonder but I'd probably calm down some. But they're new so I'm not holding my breath."

Artie shrugged. "He can want BT all he wants but as long as she says no, what's the problem?"

"I wouldn't put it past Marcy to sleep with him for as long as she can get away with while she's with me. This is the first time she's been faithful. If she is."

Artie grimaced. "Sounds like my girls. Taming them should put me on every badass list there is."

"Yep. Loving a dancing flame is not for the meek."

"How does Elle Woods feel about Sam?"

"She's stopped seeing him as the enemy when he moved senior year. I don't know if she thinks the year apart dulled their relationship but she definitely stopped paying attention."

"She did go to his prom…"

"Yep." Mal's brows drew together.

"You a big man. I would have chained her to the house."

"I wanted to but my mom talked me into trusting her."

"Moms." Artie scoffed.

Mal realized what he'd been watching went off a while ago and flipped the channels.

"You don't want to go to bed, do you?"

"It's only been three weeks but I've gotten used to bed partners."

Artie was quiet as he thought. A brilliant idea popped into his head. "Bring the twins in with you."

"But they're already asleep." Mal liked that idea.

"Don't wake them up. Just bring 'em in. Sleep with the dogs, too."

"They have been quiet all night. Didn't even want to go for their walk."

Artie yawned. "Yeah, just crowd the bed then think about how you'll be closer to seeing her the faster you go to sleep."

Mal smiled. "Thanks, Artie. I see why she likes you so much."

"Because I'm amazing." Artie wheeled out. "Night!"

"Night!" Mal turned off the TV and went upstairs. He tiptoed to the twins' room.

They were fast asleep. They'd cried themselves to sleep earlier when Mal had to explain to them that Mommy was sick and had to stay behind while they got to go home.

He went to their cribs and lifted one out then the other. It was tricky juggling but he got both and went to his room. He put them in the big bed then went to the closet.

Secret lifted his head.

Mal whistled shortly and gestured to the bedroom.

Secret got up, which stirred Sully. Both dogs left the closet and climbed into the bed. Ecru needed help.

Mal followed behind and got in the bed. He got under the covers and picked up his phone to set an alarm for the morning. He set the phone aside and laid back, willing sleep to find him.

It wasn't working at first until he began thinking of when he first met Marcy. Sleep overtook him quickly as he smiled his way to unconsciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

**_I should have posted this yesterday but I was busy doing a ton of other things so you're getting it for Valentine's Day._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

Mercedes pushed open the door and led everyone in. "Are you awake?"

"Nope." Marcy didn't even look at her.

Mercedes frowned. "Stop that!"

"Mommy!" Mally and Mickey ran forward and lifted their arms.

"Hi, babies!" Marcy pinched their cheeks.

They tried to climb in the bed but Mal brushed their hands aside. "Mommy is still sick, guys."

The twins began crying.

"Just put them up here." Marcy patted the space beside her.

"Marce,-" Mal started.

"Why must you fight me on every little thing?"

"Me?!"

"Mal!" Mike snapped.

Mal grumbled before setting the twins on the bed. He muttered something he didn't want his kids repeating.

It made Marcy smile. "Look, I was trippin last night. Thank you for coming up here. Thank you for staying. Sorry for dismissing you like that."

Mercedes hugged her tightly. "You're so forgiven!"

"Get off me…"

Mercedes squeezed her. "No! I forgive you for being so mean!"

"Get _off_ me!"

Mercedes let her go with a pout. "I went too far."

Marcy massaged her temples. "You can go now."

"You're throwing us out after you just finished apologizing for throwing us out?!" Quinn sniped.

"I'm not throwing you out, you fermented cabbage! You have work! Go to work!"

"We can take the day off." Ellen said.

"No. Go to work before you get fired. I'm fine." Marcy patted her hand.

"But-?" Sam protested.

"Beat it!"

"You don't know how to be nice, do you?" Blaine gave off attitude.

"Because you don't listen! I don't _want_ you here!"

Brittany's eyes filled. "Sorry for bugging you."

Marcy sighed. "You're not bugging me. _You're_ not bugging me. I just want to be alone. Besides you can't do anything for me."

"But we can help!"

"Do what? When did any of you graduate from medical school?"

Mike wiped a hand over his face to not laugh. "She's got a point."

"You can stay."

"Yay."

"Him?!" Plenty of them were upset.

"And RT." Marcy added.

Artie was surprised. "Really? Even though I ain't got a degree?"

"You're a little useful."

"You want me to do something for you."

"Yes, I do."

"What is it?"

Marcy was quiet for a moment. "I want you to direct a music video."

"A music video?"

"It's where you have footage of a person set to music."

He gave her a bald look. "I know what a music video is."

She shrugged.

"Why do you want me to direct a music video?"

"You can't figure it out?"

"Why can't you just come out and say you want to sing?"

"Why I gotta say it when you know what I want?!"

"Because."

"We're no longer friends."

He grinned. "What brought this on?"

"I've been thinking."

"And?"

"I have an amazing thought process."

"Girl!"

"I've been doing commercials and there's always music on set. I'm steady dancing and singing and a music video has to be fun."

"It does sound fun!" Mercedes lit up. "I wanna do the video with you!"

"I never said yes." Artie pointed out as Marcy gave Mercedes a chilling look.

"You're going to say yes. I don't know why you're stalling." Marcy gave lip.

"I'm offended by that!"

Marcy stared at him.

He sighed. "Fine. When you wanna do this?"

"How about Saturday?"

"I'm not working."

"Cool. We can rent cameras and get down."

"What song are you trying to do?"

"Haven't decided."

"I'll give you a suggestion if you let me sing with you." Mercedes sang softly.

"Fine." Marcy growled. "I need your studio anyway."

Mercedes squealed. "I accept! Okay! How about _Fade Away_?"

Marcy's brows lifted. "That's a righteous choice. I've got ideas if we do that."

Mercedes smiled smugly. "I come up with pretty good ideas."

"Let's not get cocky. How are we going to approach it? Remix? Cover? What?"

Mercedes tapped her bottom lip. "Maybe a cover with a twist?"

"Style change or runs?" Marcy smirked.

Mercedes beamed. "Runs!"

Marcy grinned. "Always got to show off those pipes."

Mercedes wiggled her nose against her sister's cheek. Marcy giggled.

"I want to do a music video." Quinn pouted.

"We can do a whole bunch!" Marcy grinned excitedly. "It'll be great! We'll do different groups and it'll help RT gain exposure for his directing talents and it'll be something fun for us to do as a group."

"We can do everything ourselves." Mercedes said. "Hair, makeup, costumes. It'll be amazing."

"I want to do that!" Brittany gushed.

"That sounds like so much fun!" Tina wiggled.

"It does sound great." Blaine nodded. "I'm sure we're all going to take some musical classes and this will be great practice."

Rachel smiled. "I completely need a break from rehearsing."

"I'd totally kick ass at a music video." Puck grinned.

"Puck!" Quinn hit him.

"Kick butt." He rolled his eyes.

Artie stroked his chin. "I like it. Where are we posting these videos?"

"YouTube." Marcy chirped. "We'll upload the video to whoever's in the video's pages."

"Alright, I'm game. But if I need actors for my short films, I don't want no lip."

"Darnit!" She snapped her fingers.

"You lucky you cute."

She beamed. "Alright, we can iron out everything later. Get out."

"You're still kicking us out?!" Sam was incredulous.

"You still have work. What are you going to do? skip work and watch me sleep?"

"I'm not leaving." Karou spoke up.

"Go away." Marcy groaned.

"I can't. I have nowhere to be."

"Fine." Marcy sighed. "You can stay."

"You know we haven't told anyone you were in the hospital." Mercedes commented.

"Who are you going to tell?"

"Our parents. Marc and Laura."

"Please do not. I'm fine."

"Laura would have a heart-attack if we didn't tell her." Quinn's eyes lit up. "Let's not tell her for months!"

Mike laughed.

"Lucy!" Mercedes set her hands on her hips.

Quinn pouted. "It was just a thought."

"We're telling Laura!"

"I do not like you." Marcy remarked.

Mercedes stuck her lip out. "I love you anyway. We'll see you later."

"Uh huh." Marcy laid back.

They began filing out.

"Mal! I gotta tell you something. Mikey, Rou, can you get me more apple juice please?"

Both nodded as they followed everyone else out.

Mal set the twins on the floor. "Follow Mama."

The twins looked at him with pouts.

"Go on. I'll be right there. Then we can go home and make Mommy get well cards."

They brightened and ran after Ellen. "Yay!"

"What?" Mal turned to Marcy.

She waited until the door closed before pulling him forward by his shirt. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his head down to lay a crushing kiss to his lips.

He was stunned for a few seconds but then closed his eyes and responded. He leaned forward, pushing her back and reached for her.

She hissed and he stopped. "Ow!"

"Sorry." He drew back to look at her covered stomach. "Does it hurt much?"

"I'm on some dope ass morphine but you know my drug tolerance."

He gingerly caressed her belly, going gentler when she retracted. "I almost lost you."

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "You're not getting rid of me that easy."

"You better not go anywhere."

"Can you bring me my phone?"

"We're having a moment here and you're asking after your phone?!"

"I need it. To call work and tell Bernie why I didn't show up to the shoot yesterday. I don't know her number by heart so I couldn't call her from the hospital's line."

"I'll get you your phone." He sighed.

She kissed his cheek. "I'll be out soon and we can exercise."

"Exercise?" He was momentarily confused. "How can you think of sex when you're laid up in the hospital?"

"You don't want me?" She widened her eyes and used her baby voice.

He fell for it hook, line and sinker. He kissed her hard. "Of course I do. The day I stop is the day after I've died."

She smiled and kissed him again. "Good answer. Now go take pictures. You can't create a portfolio if there's no material."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"How is she?" Jude asked as soon as Mercedes stepped into the coffeeshop.

"She says she's fine but you know it'd kill her to admit to hurting." Mercedes put her purse away and tied on a green apron.

"At least she's up and talking."

"Yeah. Thank you so much for coming yesterday. She wouldn't admit it but I know it helped her to see your face."

"I'm sure it helped to see yours as well." He put a hand on her shoulder. "She was probably just tired and that's why she wanted us to leave."

"I know. Thinking about it in the light of day, I know she was tired. It was an ordeal."

"How are you and your sister and brothers holding up?"

"We're fine. Worried about her but we're good. We'll probably watch her like a hawk for months."

"She's bound to love that."

"Oh she'll be filled with joy." She giggled.

Sunshine walked over and hugged her. "Jude told us what happened. I'm so sorry about your sister."

"She'll get better." Mercedes was sure. Marcy would push herself.

"That must have been a scary thing to go through though."

"It was. But I don't want to think about it. I just want to think about the future. Namely this music video she wants to do."

"Music video?" Jude questioned.

"Oh yeah. She wants to do it this Saturday but I don't know if she'll be out the hospital by then."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Mal's going to kill you." Mike said what they all knew.

"Mal's _a_ daddy, not _my_ daddy." Marcy yawned.

"You don't listen to your daddy." Karou said flippantly.

"Shut up!"

Karou grinned but Mike was not amused. "You can't leave the hospital today! You just got out of life saving surgery hours ago!"

Marcy turned away from him. "I don't want to hear this."

"You might not want to but you need to. You need to think about your health."

"I'm behind on everything. What am I supposed to do here?!"

"Rest! Why can't you sit still?!"

She looked away.

He sat in the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Whatever you're afraid of has to be conquered. What if you fall out at home and the twins find you? Do you want what Tana went through to happen to them?"

"No." She replied easily enough.

"Please stay? I'd feel better with you here."

Her eyes shifted although her long curly eyelashes hid them momentarily. "Fine. But I'm leaving Thursday."

Mike had a headache now. He sighed. "We'll fight about that later."

"You still haven't said anything about my idea." She'd brought up creating a dance channel for her, him and Brittany, where they'd come up with routines to songs they liked.

"I don't have anything going on but aren't you really busy?"

"Not really. I'm at home a lot."

"But you're working and chasing behind the twins."

"I'm working from home for the twins but man, has that bitten me in the butt. I finish with my work quickly then I have all day to play with them. I don't have much in common with Marionette so my conversations are limited to _Sesame Street_ episodes."

"Why didn't you tell me? I could have come up. I'm so bored most of the time."

"I'm super bored, too." Karou admitted. "I don't wanna work but I am so bored at home. Makes me wish I had a shopping habit or something."

"Right?! Mercy and Lucy are so lucky!" Marcy groused.

"I'd rather not have a shopping addiction but I know what you mean." Mike crossed his legs at the ankle. "I've done a lot of woodworking since we've been here."

"It never occurred to me to build anything." Marcy blinked.

"We can have a channel." Karou suggested. "We can do all kinds of stuff. Record conversations that we have, complete challenges, sing. Everything."

"There might be an overabundance of us on YouTube then…" Marcy's lips twitched.

"They'll love us." Karou waved that away.

"I wonder if I can post videos of me working." Mike asked himself.

"Of you working out. Girls would love that." Marcy answered anyway.

He blushed.

"You don't notice the looks you get at the gym?"

He shook his head. He was much too shy to even look at another person at the gym.

"Boy, you better recognize! We're all hot! There's a reason we've never had a problem getting laid!"

His blush worsened. "Please stop."

"Nope!" Karou popped up. "You're sexy and you know it!"

He laughed.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Santana walked inside and blinked quickly. She could have sworn she saw Marcy on the ground again.

She shook her head harshly and closed the door behind her. She took off her shoes and placed her bag on the bench by the door.

Sharp sounds echoed throughout the space until it was filled with three dogs, a piglet and a fat cat. The animals looked at her before approaching her carefully.

She looked at them blankly then moved forward. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a soda then to the pantry for a bag of chips before heading to the den.

She plopped on the large sectional and pulled her feet up, reaching for the remote. She turned the TV on and sat back to flip through the channels.

Secret and Sully sat in front of her like they were guarding her from any threat. Cupcake spun around in circles then stopping as if checking if his antics were making her smile. Ecru hopped around, doing the same. Lord Tubbington leapt onto the couch and slithered into her lap.

Santana was touched. She'd never been much of an animal person but they were making her feel better. She relaxed against the couch and leaned on her hand to watch whatever the channel was stuck on.

Before long she'd fallen into a deep sleep, her first since this nightmare began.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"What?" Mal raised a brow.

"I'm leaving." Marcy repeated.

"You've been here two days!"

"Three days too long!"

He raised his hands like he was choking her. "Ah!"

"Would you at least stay until tomorrow?" Mercedes pleaded.

"What's tomorrow?" Marcy asked.

Mercedes blinked. "Another day to plead with you to stay another day…"

"No."

"We'll tell Laura on you!"

"I don't care!"

Quinn gasped. "You really want to get out of here!"

"I'm not staying."

"What happened to Thursday?" Mike demanded.

"I changed my mind."

"Thursday?!" Mal glared. " _That's_ too soon!"

"You like it so much, _you_ stay here!"

He began screaming.

She refused to look at him while he had his tantrum.

"What's going on in here?!" A nurse raced in.

"She's trying to leave." Mike told her.

"Oh no!" Her eyes widened before rushing to Marcy's side. "You shouldn't even think of leaving!"

"I'm past thinking of it." Marcy folded her arms across her chest.

"Please. You're not well. You just had major surgery."

"I don't care."

The nurse blinked. "Oh my…"

"I'm going home. Today."

The woman was clearly flustered. "I must find your doctor!"

Marcy waved a hand as if giving her permission.

The nurse ran out.

"You're staying here." Mal told her in no uncertain terms.

"Keep believing that." Marcy could not care less what he thought. She was going home.

"I'm calling Laura!" Mercedes frowned.

"Go ahead. Snitch."

She glared at her before whipping her phone out. "I'm dialing!"

Marcy lifted her brows lazily.

Mercedes touched Laura's contact and held the phone up to her ear. "It's ringing!"

Marcy just stared at her.

"Hello?" Laura said on the other end.

"Laura?!" Mercedes fully expected Marcy to crack. Now she wasn't sure she wanted to tell on her. But what Marcy was planning was dangerous so she would. "Laura, Marcy's in the hospital!"

"What?!" Laura freaked out.

"Her appendix burst!"

"What?!" Clearly Laura wasn't handling this well.

"And now she's trying to leave the hospital!"

Mercedes could hear Laura pull in a deep breath. "I'm on the first flight out. Do our parents know?"

"No."

"When did this happen?"

"Monday." Mercedes whispered.

"Monday?! Mercy,-!"

"I know! I'm sorry but she didn't want anybody to know!"

"I don't care! This is serious! We should have been notified!"

"I'm sorry." Laura never yelled at her before and Mercedes felt low.

Laura huffed. "I'll be there before nightfall. Keep her in the hospital until then."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye." Laura hung up.

Mercedes put away her phone and looked at Marcy miserably. Unfortunately her little sister was staring at her with this bored yet angry expression, one she'd worn a lot looking at Mercedes lately and it looked to the almost nineteen year old to be hatred.

Quinn took Mercedes's hand and squeezed. "What'd she say?"

"She's on the first flight out."

"Was she mad?" Mike could tell she was by Mercedes's face alone.

"Yeah."

"You don't need her to like you anyway. She doesn't like me and my life's great."

Her lips quirked into a semblance of a smile. "Thanks, Sonny."

"She doesn't like me either." Quinn pointed out. "I think I'm the better for it."

Mercedes squeezed her fingers. "Stop that."

Quinn giggled.

Marcy rolled her eyes and pushed aside the covers.

"Where are you going?!" Mal snapped.

"To piss, jailer!"

He helped her up against her wishes and led her to the bathroom just inside the room. Once inside, she slammed the door in his face. "You shrew!"

Mike chuckled.

"That's not funny!" Mal swung around.

"She's held together by pure fire and iron will."

Mal paced in a tight circle. "She's a monster, is what she is!"

They couldn't refute that.

The doctor stepped in the room. "Ms. Taylor-Jones?"

"Bathroom." Mike jerked his head in that direction.

Just then the door opened and she hobbled out. Mal went to help her back to bed, even though she fought him the whole time.

The doctor waited until she was in the bed to say, "You can't leave."

"My fully functional legs say I can." Marcy covered herself.

He stared at her in shock. "You had major surgery three days ago. You can't think you're well enough to go home."

"What am I well enough to do?" She gave him a look. "Rot like a piece of bad salmon? Stink up a room like a dead skunk? Have my brain shrivel up and die like a boy?"

Quinn snorted with the amount of restraint it took to not laugh.

The poor doctor was bewildered by her. Most of the patients that wanted to leave his care were older people unconcerned with death. "You could die."

"I can die here." Marcy pointed out.

Yeah, she was unconcerned with death. "What if your infection spreads?"

"I'll come back. I can come back, can't I? Or is this a one time thing?"

He was not amused. "I can't force you to stay-"

"What?!" Mal didn't like that.

"By law, I can't force treatment on anyone. If she wants to leave, I have to let her go." The doctor hated that. He could see a returned visit in her future.

"This is bullshit!" Mal railed.

Mike put a hand on his shoulder. "We're going to watch her at home. We'll make sure she's safe. Don't worry."

But Mal was worried. Marcy was hardheaded and stubborn. She did exactly what she wanted.

"Don't worry." Mike repeated.

"I'll draw up your release papers." The doctor told Marcy.

Who nodded. "Thank you."

He was surprised she said that but he only nodded and left.

"Let's get you dressed." Quinn suggested.

"I can dress myself." Marcy didn't move.

"Why are you like this?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Surprise!"

Marcy grunted and kept limping.

Her friends were underwhelmed by her reaction.

"You could at least say thank you to your friends for throwing you a welcome home party!" Mal snapped.

Marcy kept walking until she got to the stairs. Her dogs were there immediately and she petted them before inching up the steps.

Mal sighed.

Ellen took his hand. "She's just tired probably."

He kissed her gently. She hugged him. "Thanks. For being you."

She squeezed him.

"So what do we do now?" Finn wondered.

Quinn took his hand and shrugged. "We can stay here and relax or we can go up there and bug her."

"I wanna bug her!" Karou piped up.

"Rou!" Mercedes set her hands on her hips.

"Maybe we should take turns visiting her?" Tina suggested.

"I don't want you alone with her." Mike shook his head.

"What's going to happen?"

"You'll try to be positive and she'll get angry." He said promptly.

Her fell face. "You're right."

"Little Diva is being impossible!" Kurt frowned.

"She was born impossible." Mal spat.

"You should get the twins up." Ellen told him. "She'll probably want to see them."

"Let's go." He led her upstairs and to the twins' room. They were still asleep and so were Beth and Raven. He picked up Mally and gave him to Ellen before grabbing his little princess.

Mally began crying in his sleep.

Mal rubbed his back while kissing Mickey's face. The little girl yawned in her dad's face before blinking open her green eyes. "Hi."

"Hi, Daddy." She laid her head on his hard shoulder.

"You wanna wake up now?"

She shook her head and clung to his shirt.

"Mommy's home."

"Mommy's home?!" She popped up, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Yeah, Mommy's home."

She leaned over and pushed at Mally's back. "Mally! Mommy's home!"

Mally waved his arms irritably.

She kept pushing until he raised his head. "Mommy's home, Brother!"

"Mommy's home?" He rubbed his eyes and yawned. It clicked in his head what they were saying and he came alive. "Mommy's home!"

"Let's go see Mommy." Mal walked out, Ellen on his heels.

They made it to their room and opened the door to see Marcy on the bed in fetal position, the dogs around her.

"Mommy!" The twins screamed.

Marcy opened her eyes (she wasn't asleep). She sat up with difficulty. "Hi, babies."

Mickey pulled on her father's shirt to make him move towards the bed. "Mommy, miss you!"

"I missed you, too." Marcy hadn't wanted them up at the hospital.

Mickey reached out for her. Marcy grabbed her. Mickey hugged her mother close and began crying.

"Don't cry, Mac Attack."

Mickey rubbed her face against Marcy's chest.

Mally wanted to get down so Ellen put him on his feet. He ran to the bed and reached up to pat his sister's back.

Marcy switched Mickey to her hip and pulled Mally into the bed with her right arm. Both twins hugged her tightly. She kissed their curly heads.

Ellen smiled. This was the Marcy she loved. The one that had to be exhausted but let her children cling to her because they'd missed her so much.

Mal went to the bathroom.

Ellen went to the bed and sat down. "Want to show Mommy the cards you made her?"

The twins nodded excitedly. They slid to the ground and ran out.

Marcy sat up against the pillows.

"How are you feeling? Honestly?" Ellen asked.

Marcy lifted a shoulder.

"How do you not know?"

"Meds."

Ellen nodded. "I know Mal's mad but I'm glad you're home."

Marcy nodded before closing her eyes.

"I think you're tired. I know you took a taxi home but it must have still been a tiring journey."

Marcy wasn't tired. But if that meant people would leave her in peace, she'd say she was. "Sure."

The twins ran back in with a bunch of folded construction paper. "Mommy, look!"

She took the cards and looked them over. Neither one knew how to write but they'd made serious squiggly lines all over the pages. "Thank you! They're so great!"

Mal returned and went to the closet.

Ellen frowned. What was he doing?

"You wanna sleep with Mommy?" Marcy asked.

"Sleep?" Mally said it like it was a dirty word.

Ellen giggled. "You didn't want to wake up!"

He buried his face in the hanging cover. "No!"

Marcy pinched his cheek. "Go play. Mommy will see you later."

"Later?" He moved his face, his eyes staring up at her, troubled.

"Mommy promises."

Mally looked at Mickey and they silently communicated. Both looked at their mother and nodded. "Otay. Later."

"Go play with your cousins." She pointed to the door.

They ran out calling for Beth to wake up.

Ellen looked at Marcy, who was staring down at the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Marcy blinked.

"You're just staring at the bed."

"It's nothing." She'd been wondering how she was going to slide down to get comfortable again without hurting herself. But she couldn't say that.

Ellen's lips puckered before she bit the bottom one. "Okay."

Marcy decided to bite the bullet and just move. She inched down and laid back, wondering what fresh hell this was then thought about how she could have stayed in the hospital and therefore should quit her bellyaching.

Ellen winced every time Marcy made a face on the way down. She had to be in pain but she stubbornly refused help. _Who does that?_

Marcy arranged the covers around herself and pulled her knees up.

Ellen got up and went around the bed to get in on the other side. She slid as close as she could with Secret blocking her. She laid back and closed her eyes. She didn't mean to but she fell asleep.

Marcy waited for her breathing to even out before she opened her eyes. She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. She knew Mal was awake and in the closet but hoped she could make herself fall asleep before he came out.

She charged into her happy place and thought hard about it before relaxing the rigid control she held on herself. She let herself feel everything she felt. Before long, she was in a fitful sleep.

Mal opened the door to the closet and shut it behind himself quietly. He crossed the room and watched his lovers sleep. He sighed deeply. What was he going to do with Marcy?

He shook his head. Should he track down the twins or look over his girlfriends as they slept? He was exhausted honestly and decided to lie down to rest his eyes. Just for a few minutes.

He laid on the other side of Ellen and was promptly asleep.

None of them were aware of when Laura came in to check on them later on. The blonde watched them for a moment before kissing her little brother and sister and leaving.


	7. Chapter 7

**_This was supposed to go up days ago but life happened. I'm here now._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

Marcy sighed heavily. "Would you leave me alone?"

"No." Laura held the fork to her lips. "Eat."

Marcy could scream. Laura had been babying her since she woke up last night and she was officially over it. "I'm not eating that."

Laura poked her lips with the fork. "Open up."

Marcy turned her head.

"Stop that and eat!"

Marcy shook her head.

Laura lowered the fork. "I suppose I can't make you eat."

"Nope!"

Laura yawned.

Marcy yawned. While the teen mother's mouth was open, Laura snuck the fork inside. Marcy was not happy.

But Laura was. She removed the fork and hummed as she stabbed at more pasta in the dish.

Mally and Mickey giggled at their mother's upset face. "Eat! Eat!"

"That's right, cherubs. Mommy needs to eat."

Marcy glared at her.

"Do you want Mickey to imitate your relationship with food?" The older blonde raised a golden eyebrow.

Marcy opened her mouth but didn't lessen her glare.

Laura continued to feed her. When she was done, she handed Marcy her mug of tea. "Drink up."

That Marcy could do without lip. She drained the cup in seconds.

"I'll get you apple juice next." She took the cup and set it on the tray on the nightstand. "Have you changed your bandages today?"

Marcy nodded.

"Let me see."

"I did!"

"Then let me see!"

Marcy glared mutinously before yanking up her pyjama top.

Laura touched the white bands of cloth enrobing Marcy's waist. "Good."

Marcy yawned.

"I'll let you sleep."

"I'm not sleepy."

Laura refrained from rolling her eyes. "Of course not."

"No sleep! No sleep!" The twins yelled.

Laura shushed them. "We don't want Mommy to get a headache, do we?"

The twins covered their mouths and shook their heads with wide eyes.

"All of you lie down and I'll sing to you."

The twins crawled closer to their mom and snuggled against her. They popped their thumbs into their mouths and stared at their aunt expectantly.

Marcy merely raised an eyebrow.

Laura slapped her hand. "Lie down!"

The look Marcy bestowed upon her was withering but she slid down.

Laura smiled and cleared her throat before singing. It took no time at all for the twins to fall asleep. She knew it would take more songs than that for Marcy to go anywhere near sleep. So she kept singing.

Marcy blinked heavily. She had some heavy painkillers and they made her loopy and very sleepy. She turned her head into her pillow and closed her eyes.

Laura leaned forward and checked her breathing. When it was slow enough, she stopped singing. "I have a secret."

"What?" Marcy murmured.

"I'm pregnant."

Marcy blinked rapidly and yawned. "You're pregnant?!"

"Shhh!" Laura ran her fingers over Marcy's face, calming her down.

"But you're pregnant." Marcy forced her eyes open.

"We can talk about it after your nap."

Marcy frowned.

Laura kissed her cheek. "Go to sleep." She stood up and grabbed the tray. She began humming as she left.

Marcy watched her, wondering if she'd imagined the last few minutes. She blinked owlishly, her fatigue overtaking her. She'd just close her eyes for a moment. Just to think things through more clearly.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Artie checked his phone. Still no response. He sighed heavily.

A coworker noticed his dismal expression. "Hey, Artie. What's wrong?"

He turned his chair to face her. "It's one of my girlfriends. She's had a rough couple of days and I want to be there for her but she's not really responding."

"What's going on?" She leaned against a computerized counter.

"A friend of ours got really sick and almost died Monday. San was the one to find her."

She gasped. "Oh my goodness! That's horrifying!"

"Yeah. I couldn't imagine finding a loved one like that. I know it's got to be screwing with her head."

"Maybe she should talk to someone?"

"She won't even talk to me or Britt. I don't know what to do for her." Artie let on how freaked out that made him. He knew about depression firsthand, having gone through a tough bout of it after his accident. He didn't want that for a love of his life.

"How is she acting?"

"Really withdrawn and quiet. She's got major shadows in her eyes now. I don't like that."

She didn't know what to say. She had never been through anything traumatic (thank everything). "I wish I could tell you what to do. All I can say is keep trying to reach her and keep being understanding."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"What?!" Mercedes, Quinn and Karou came alive.

"I'm pregnant." Laura repeated as she folded laundry.

Mercedes and Quinn screamed loudly before hugging then hugging Laura.

Karou burst out laughing.

"What are you trying to say, demon?!" Laura glared at her.

"Your baby's going to be like Marc!"

"So?!"

"Remember how much he got on your nerves?" Marcy smirked.

Laura grimaced. "But I love him now."

"You loved him then."

Laura was caught. "Darn it!"

The twins giggled.

Karou grinned widely. "Your baby's gonna be bad."

Laura raised a brow at her slow dancing. "Shut up."

Karou fell over. "You've killed me!"

Marcy pushed Karou off of her. "You stupid, Rou."

Karou dragged Mally over Sully's body and hugged him hard. "Mommy says some pretty mean stuff."

"Mommy?" He looked at her with soft eyes.

"Yeah, Mommy."

Marcy said something quite rude in Spanish as she took Mally from her and kissed his cheek repeatedly.

"Marcy!" Laura glared before rolling her eyes.

Marcy splayed Mally across her lap more comfortably and laid back, wrapping her arms around him securely.

Quinn giggled. "She doesn't care."

Laura side-eyed her. "Go sit down."

Mercedes and Quinn went back to the window seat in Marcy's room. "What are you having?"

"I don't know. I'm only a month or so along." Laura went back to folding.

"Any morning sickness yet?" Mercedes asked.

"Not yet."

Quinn grinned. "Good luck!"

Mercedes pinched her twin. "Stop it!"

"That's okay, Mercy." Laura gave Quinn an ugly stare. "She's going to get pregnant again."

Quinn stuck her tongue out.

Marcy giggled. "Yeah and Finn's going to have a time on his hands. He thought the first time was stressful."

Karou fell out laughing. "Poor Finn!"

Quinn glared at both. "I'm going to be a great pregnant woman!"

"*I* was great pregnant." Marcy tossed her head.

"Darn it! You were!"

Laura made a discontented sound like sounded like a cross between a whine and a whimper. "Am I going to go crazy?"

"Yes." Mercedes, Quinn and Marcy said in unison.

"Guys?!"

"Every pregnant chick loses her mind." Marcy shrugged. "It's not fair, it's not fun. But you're creating life so you get over it."

Mercedes and Quinn smiled at their daughters. Beth was playing with Raven by the couch and chairs, rolling a ball back and forth. "It's surprisingly easy to get over."

Laura smiled at the love they held for their little girls. "I want a daughter."

"No!" Marcy whined. "Have a boy!"

"No! She's having a girl!" Quinn predicted.

"Boy!"

"Girl!"

"Why can't she have both?" Mercedes suggested.

Laura blanched. "No! I'm having one at a time!"

Karou laughed. "Scared to have twins?"

"I'm terrified to have this one. I'm definitely not having two at once."

"Are you scared of the labor?" Marcy asked seriously.

"Yes."

"I understand." Mercedes, Quinn and Marcy nodded.

"That's because none of you got the shot." Karou sassed.

"When it's your time, you better hope I'm nowhere around." Marcy threatened.

"It might be soon."

Marcy made a face as her sisters looked at Karou. "What?!"

"My boyfriend is amazing." Karou leaned back against the pillows on the bed. "He's so hot."

Laura gave her a look. "There's more to a mate than attractiveness, Karou."

"I don't think there is."

"What if he was only with you because you're pretty?!" Mercedes shot off.

"He'd be smart."

"Wow." Quinn's eyebrows raised.

"So you're saying you'd be okay with him only liking you for your looks?" Mercedes bit off.

"I'm pretty." Karou shrugged.

"Pretty stupid." Marcy muttered.

Karou side-eyed her. "I am not! You know that-"

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and only skin deep. It does not matter what you look like because if you act like a cunt, you will be alone."

"I'm not a cunt!"

"Stop acting like one."

"Guys!" Laura snapped. "Stop saying that word around the twins! Beth and Rae might be far away but the twins are right here."

"They my kids!" Marcy leaned away.

Laura threw a ball of socks at her.

"Fine."

Karou buried her face in a pillow. "I'm offended!"

"So?"

Karou growled. "You're the meanest cousin I've got!"

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's pronounced "smartest"."

Quinn burst out laughing.

"Marcy, stop being vain!" Laura lectured.

Marcy kissed Mally's face. He put his mouth on her chest and bit down. "Ow!" She popped up, regretting it instantly when her stomach ached.

Karou laughed.

Laura took Mally from Marcy. "Why'd you do that to Mommy?"

He pouted.

"Stop biting me!" Marcy yelled.

"Has he been doing this a lot?" Laura set him on her hip.

"Yes! Quit it before I wean your little butt!" That last part was to her son.

"Wean." Mickey repeated.

"Maybe it's psychological?" Laura wondered.

"Maybe he's just too big to be breastfeeding!" Marcy rubbed at the red spot.

"He's not even two yet!" Mercedes pouted at the baby, who looked remorseful.

"Let him bite you!"

"I will breastfeed him!" She held her arms out.

Laura set him on his feet after he wiggled to be put down. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Mercy."

Mercedes hefted him onto her lap and exposed her breast. "You can eat all you want."

Mally put his mouth on her breast and promptly bit her.

"Ow! Mally!" She tried to pry his jaw off of her tender flesh.

He began chewing.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Quinn couldn't stop giggling. "He's still a baby, Merce."

"Get him off!" Mercedes was at a loss as to how to pull him off without damaging her breast further.

Marcy left her bed and slowly walked over to kiss Mally's cheek. His mouth opened in a grin and he turned to raise his arms to his mother. Marcy picked him up and took him back to the bed.

Mercedes was near tears. His teeth were sharp! "Ow…"

Quinn was wiping away tears. "I'm sorry, Sissy!"

"Hungry, Mommy." Mally looked up at his mom with a pitiful look.

"Rou, look in the fridge and get me a sippy cup. The red one." Marcy instructed.

Karou left the bed to go to the mini fridge. She opened it and got the red sippy cup before bringing it back to Marcy.

Marcy gave it to Mally, who laid his head on Marcy's chest and suckled peacefully.

"Are you okay, Mercy?" Laura had left to get a warm, wet towel and now gave it to Mercedes.

Mercedes sulked as she tenderly patted her breast. "That hurt a lot. How often does he do that?"

"More than he needs to." Marcy rocked side to side with him, hoping he'd go to sleep.

"When did this start?" Laura wanted to know.

"A couple weeks ago."

"Does he do it to anyone else?"

"Just me so far. But when he lays on Ellen, he squeezes her breasts."

Mercedes looked horrified. "Who is teaching him this?!"

"I have no idea but I want to beat them with a baseball bat."

"Does Mickey do it?" Quinn questioned.

"She'll hold and squeeze my breast when I'm feeding her but that's it." Marcy shook her head.

"Maybe they are ready to be weaned?"

"I know they're fat enough."

"Marcy!" Laura swatted her.

"They are! They weigh 35 pounds! It's hard hefting them all over the place!"

Quinn grimaced. "Beth weighs 36."

"Rae weighs 18." Mercedes readjusted her shirt and bra.

"I wish I knew if that was healthy or not." Laura's lips moved soundlessly after speaking.

"Beth's underweight." Quinn frowned. "The doctor has told me to get her to drink Ensure."

"Rae's okay." Mercedes shrugged. "Not too big, not too small."

"These two are jumbo jets." Marcy peeked at Mally, who was near asleep.

"Well you breastfeed them and feed them adult food." Karou pointed out.

"Is that bad?" Laura wondered.

"Seems like a bunch of food to me."

Marcy glared at her. "Shut up! If my babies want to eat, I'm not gon deny them!"

"Mally wants to eat all the time! He's like Mal!"

Marcy stilled. "He's home."

"What? Who?"

"Mal. Daddy's home, Mickey."

Mickey lit up and crawled over her mother and brother to slide to the floor. Once she was on the ground, she ran out screaming.

"That's so cute!" Mercedes giggled.

"Wanna see Daddy?" Marcy poked Mally's cheek.

The little boy shook his head and got more comfortable.

"Sometimes the parallels between this kid and that man are too similar…"

Karou's eyes narrowed in confusion and she cocked her head.

"Mal would rather lay on my boobs and sleep, too." Marcy clarified.

Karou snickered.

"I think it's cute how Mally is just like his daddy." Quinn teased.

"I think it's adorable how excited Mickey gets to see her daddy." Mercedes countered.

Laura smiled, thinking about how her baby would react to seeing its father. "I like both."

The door creaked as someone walked in. It was Mal holding Mickey. "Hey."

"Hi, Mal!" The girls chirped.

"How are you doing today?" Mal went to Marcy and kissed her forehead.

She gave him a haggard look for the affection. "You saw me this morning."

"That was then."

She stuck her tongue out.

He chucked her chin. "How's the rest of you?"

"Laura's pregnant!" Mercedes squealed.

His eyes widened as Laura's narrowed. "Mercy!"

"I'm sorry! Was it a secret?"

Laura ran a hand over her face. "Not really but I haven't even told Marc yet."

"You haven't?" Quinn looked dubious. "Why not?"

"Because he's away and I don't want to tell him over the phone."

"You're going to be a mom? Ew!" Mal wrinkled his nose.

Laura whipped around. "Shut up, Mal!"

He snickered. "I can't wait to tell Mike."

"You better not!"

"I don't know. I think he'd want to know."

"So would our parents." Marcy pointed out.

Mal lifted her up and sat behind her. "Oh yeah. I forgot about them. Another grandchild? Whoo!"

"You better not say anything and I mean it, Malcolm Benjamin Chang Sr.!" Laura threatened.

Mal hid his face in Marcy's curls.

"No yell Daddy!" Mickey scolded.

"You be quiet, too." Laura looked at her.

Mickey frowned at her before consoling her father.

"Aww!" Quinn felt like laughing. "She's protecting her daddy from the mean witch."

"Lucille!" Laura warned.

Quinn grumbled under her breath.

"As much fun as this is, I need to prepare for tomorrow." Marcy tried to wave Mal from behind her.

"What's tomorrow?" Laura folded the last item of clothing on the bed.

"I promised the twins I'd take them ice skating."

"Ice skating?!" They all came to attention.

"The twins don't know how to ice skate." Mercedes brought up.

"I know." Marcy said patiently. "I'm teaching them."

"No." Mal said immediately.

"You can't tell me no."

"Yes, I can. No. You're hurt. You can't teach anyone anything but how to nap."

Karou snorted, trying to hold in laughter.

"You, shut up." Marcy told her before addressing Mal. "I'm going. Period. I don't make promises I don't intend to keep."

"You can't sing your way out of this." Mal wasn't going for it.

"I don't care what you say. I'm leaving this house tomorrow."

"I will lock you in this room." He threatened.

"The lock is on the inside…"

"We have chairs!"

"You can't keep me here!"

"I don't have a job! I can watch you all day!"

Marcy sighed. Fire wasn't working so maybe she'd try water. She laid back on him and snuggled against him. She brought out her baby voice. "Please? I love you."

As hoped, he melted. "Maybe I'll go with you. You shouldn't be alone."

She almost argued that she didn't need a watcher but decided to take it. "It'll be a family day. We'll teach them how to skate and spend the whole day together."

He didn't see her face turn green from the thought of spending the entire day with another human being. He kissed her head. "It's a date."

"And then maybe we can go to a pet store and buy a goat?" She should get something out of this trial.

"Sure- what?!"

She twisted so some of her front-including her chest- was pressed against him. "I want a kid."

"We can do that." He pulled her so she was lying on the bed and he threw his leg over her. "Get out!"

"Mal!" Laura, Mercedes and Quinn went red.

Karou fell out laughing.

Marcy pushed Mal away. "A baby goat, Mal!"

His face fell. "What about a kid?"

"You know a baby goat is called a kid. Stop thinking of human children!"

"But we're gonna have more, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes."

His lips quirked momentarily. "When?"

"What is wrong with you?"

"When?" He pressed closer.

She groaned. "After college."

"That's so far away!"

"Mal!" He pouted so she huffed. "I promise; right after college."

"How about the last year of college?"

"How about I get pregnant the last semester of college?"

He thought it over. "Okay."

He didn't sound happy about it so she licked his lips.

His lips twitched. "Thank you."

Mickey licked his cheek.

"Thank you, too." He got off Marcy. "Want to go in Daddy's darkroom and watch him make pictures?"

Mickey nodded. "Bye, Mommy!"

"Bye, baby." Marcy waved.

Mal kissed the top of Mally's sleeping head. "See you guys later."

"We'll pick out my goat tomorrow." Marcy said as he was striding out.

He looked back at her. "Okay…?"

"And my sheep."

"Your what?!"

"Love you!"

He frowned before leaving.

Marcy smiled winsomely until he left.

Quinn and Karou fell out laughing.

Laura tapped Marcy's nose. "Stop doing him like that."

Marcy wrinkled her nose and made a sharp sound.

Mercedes looked between the door and Marcy. "Besides tricking him into getting you a petting zoo, I don't think you should be alone at the skating rink."

Marcy rolled her eyes. "Ugh! I don't need anyone with me!"

"Yes, you do. Mal's going to have a hard time keeping up with two rambunctious 22 month olds and an injured spouse. You need us there."

Marcy was going to argue but Quinn jumped in. "Beth doesn't know how to skate either. It'll be a learning experience and she and the twins can bond, learning something together."

Marcy raised a disinterested brow.

"I think you need to stay in bed but it's either you all go or none of you go." Laura commanded.

"When are you going home?!"

"When I feel like it. So what's it gonna be?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"I've never been ice skating before." Puck hefted Beth high.

"Me either." Tina gushed. "This is so exciting!"

"Can I skate?" Brittany knew how.

"Probably no tricks." Quinn told her.

Santana hit Artie, who'd opened his mouth.

He sulked.

Sam and Blaine snickered.

"I haven't been ice skating since I was eight years old." Kurt was excited, too.

Finn frowned. He didn't know a thing about skating, ice or not. He didn't relish looking like a fool.

Rachel took his hand. She was nervous herself. She'd requested the morning off so she could be there for her friends but what if they expected her to get out there?!

Marcy took the tied pair of skates from around her neck and sat down. "Ready, babies?"

The twins looked all around before glancing back at her to nod with wide eyes.

She picked up Mally and sat him on her lap to put the rented baby skates on him. "Okay, you're going to hold onto the white bars, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay."

Mal tied up skates on Mickey. "Make sure you don't let go and move slow."

Mickey kicked her legs, excited to get going. "Okay!"

Quinn took Beth from Puck and helped her into her skates. "You're going to skate like Mommy."

Beth looked up at her with a smile. "Yay!"

"Is she gonna skate?" Puck put a hand on Raven's back.

"Noah, she's not even eight months old." Mercedes looked at him worriedly.

"I don't know! I don't know anything about this place!"

"Is this safe?" Ellen asked again.

Marcy kissed her cheek.

Ellen blushed. She knew Marcy was only doing it to shut her up but she so rarely got affection from the Gemini that it always worked.

"I can't wait for this!" Karou put her own skates on.

Marcy set Mally on the bench and popped up. She was going to say something but she heard the music coming over the PA system. She started dancing and used to her open mouth to start singing.

Mercedes laughed and handed Raven to Puck to sing the chorus with her and Quinn.

Tina surprised them all by rapping the next verse. Marcy took over the next one. Mercedes chimed in when appropriate. All four sang the chorus twice.

Tina rapped the verse again before they all sang the chorus twice. Mercedes sang the bridge.

They all sung the chorus until the song, TLC's _What About Your Friends_ , faded. The whole skating rink clapped.

"Go 'head, T-Bird!" Marcy high-fived Tina.

Tina was so proud of herself. "Thanks, Marcy!"

Mercedes hugged Tina. "Look at you!"

"Thank you so much, Tina!" Quinn hugged her over Mercedes. "I never could rap Left Eye's part!"

Mike held his sisters off. "That's my girl!"

Tina beamed.

"And we got it all on camera!" Mal patted his camera.

She blushed. "Oh no!"

"What do you mean "oh no!"?!" Kurt put his hands on his hips. "That was incredible! The four of you sounded amazing! It reminded me of senior prom!"

The boys grinned.

"What happened senior prom?" Karou raised a smirking brow.

"These three sang a highly inappropriate TLC song." Mike hooked a thumb at his younger sisters.

"Really? Which one? _Not 2 Proud 2 Beg_?"

Marcy licked her lips to keep from smiling. "No but we shoulda."

Mike wasn't amused and his face said so.

"You gotta lighten up. We have sex."

"Marcy?!" Mercedes and Quinn blushed.

"You have to quit having him think you've only had sex once. He's a genius."

"Mikey, we've had sex only once!" Quinn didn't care.

"What about having sex with him?" Sam asked.

Mike, Mercedes and Quinn facepalmed as Tina, Puck, Anna, Finn and Rachel glared at him and the others snickered madly.

"Sorry." Sam lowered his head. "We've had sex."

"Sam?!" Mercedes was horrified.

Marcy buried her face in Mal's chest, trying not to cry in laughter.

"When was this?!" Mike and Puck wanted to know.

"Mike!" Tina put her hands on her hips. "You cannot be mad at her for sleeping with Sam!"

"Yes, I can!" He shook Mercedes. "Who told you you could sleep with him?! Who knows what he had?!"

"Hey!" Sam was offended as Artie took his glasses off to wipe away tears.

"Mikey!" Mercedes blushed. "I'm sorry!"

"Mike, I got this!" Puck dragged Mercedes to face him. "When was this?!"

Mercedes blew out a breath. "You slept with my sister!"

"That wasn't my fault!"

"Excuse you!" Quinn snapped.

Marcy started coughing.

"Quinn went after you?!" Finn demanded.

"Haven't you had this talk?" Kurt asked.

"No! We never talked about it. That's how I forgave him."

"I did *not* go after Puck!" Quinn yelled.

Puck gave her a look.

"Shut up! I did not! You came onto me!"

"Yeah but you didn't pull away!"

"I still didn't come onto you! I would never!"

"Lucy!" Mercedes frowned.

Mal waved her away with a red from laughing so hard face. "No, Mercy! Let her tell him why she really slept with him!"

"There was a reason?" Mike was confused.

Quinn hit him.

"Mikey, you know damn well the reason." Marcy moved from Mal's chest and fanned her face, which was redder than Mal's.

"Oh right!" His face glowed with understanding before he looked at Puck with a grimace. "Ouch!"

"Why'd you sleep with me?" Puck was starting to think it was bad.

Quinn looked at Mercedes, who patted Puck's chest. "Let's skate!"

"What?! No! I wanna know!"

"I know I do." Karou bit her finger with a grin.

"Shut up, Rou!" Mercedes glared before smiling at Puck. "Let's just skate. People are looking."

The friends looked around and noticed people were staring.

"Fine." Puck bit off, resigned to further this questioning at a later date.

Mercedes kissed him. "Thank you."

"Crap…" Mal sulked.

Mercedes and Quinn jumped at him but Puck and Finn caught them. Both yelled in French.

"I have never wanted to know that garbage language until now." Marcy crossed her legs.

Santana and Kurt were snickering like crazy.

Laura shook her head. "Guys, calm down. He's sorry."

"No, I'm not." Mal knew exactly what they were saying and could not care less.

Laura punched his chest.

"Ow!" He wheezed.

"No!" Mickey shouted as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Your daddy's bad." Laura told her.

"Bad?" Mickey's eyes were wide. "Like Mally?"

Marcy slapped her hands over her face as she burst out laughing.

Mally glared at his twin.

"Worse than Mally." Laura confirmed.

"Hey! Don't talk about my son!" Mal defended.

"Even though you are!" Mercedes and Quinn yelled.

He made a face at them that had them swiping at him.

"He gets it from his older brother." Laura sniffed.

"You mean your husband?" Mike said. "Because for most of your life, you've been the butt of his jokes."

"Shut up, Mikey!"

"I think I see a bald patch."

Laura jumped at him and since she was nearly off by herself, she didn't have anyone to hold her back. Mike ran away and she chased after him.

"Run, Mike!" The boys yelled.

"Mike?!" Tina was scared for him.

"Go, Mikey!" Marcy and Karou cheered.

"Mikey, stop it!" Mercedes and Quinn screamed. "She's pregnant!"

Everyone stopped and stared at the duo. Including Mike. Laura caught him and began hitting him, even as he fell between the bleachers.

"Snitches." Marcy shook her head.

"Laura's pregnant?" Tina gasped.

"Yes." Mercedes took Quinn's hand and went over to where Laura was still hitting Mike, who wasn't even trying to escape.

The twenty three year old let them drag her away from her rebellious little brother. She was decidedly uncalm as she screamed Swedish curses at him.

Mal whistled for Marcy. "Shut up!" Everyone stopped talking. "Why did you let him make you so mad? You have to watch your blood pressure."

Laura glared at Mike, who was walking over. "He gets on my last nerve!"

"Stop that! He only told the truth. Marc was a dick. Especially to you and these two idiots copied his every move."

"Hey!" Mike and Mal were offended.

"Yup!" Mercedes and Quinn hit Mal.

"The point is you need to keep calm." Marcy ignored all of them. "Do you want to have a miscarriage?"

"No." Laura bit off.

"Then let that ish go. Kill him after you give birth. You'll totally be hulked up and can do more damage."

"What?" Mike's eyes widened.

Laura took a deep breath. "Fine. I can let it go. For now. But as soon as I give birth, he's dead."

He made a noise.

"No!" Mercedes and Quinn hugged Mike. "Not Mikey! Get Jr.!"

Mal made a sound.

Marcy's shoulders shook. "Leave him alone."

"You're defending him?" Mercedes spoke in her baby voice.

"Don't start that shit."

"Marcy!" Laura pinched her.

Mally tried to sound the word out.

Marcy tapped his mouth. "Stop that. That's a no-no word."

"No-no word." He repeated.

"He wouldn't even know it if you'd stop cursing!" Laura lectured.

Mike made a face. "Ugh! You still sound like a mom! Bossy as ever!"

Laura's face crumpled in rage and she took a step.

"After birth!" Marcy snapped.

"You're lucky, you toad!"

"Ribbet!" Mike blinked innocently.

Laura screeched loudly.

Mercedes swatted Mike. "Quit it, Mikey!"

Quinn snorted. "Get her, Mikey!"

"Lucy!"

Quinn made a face.

Mercedes huffed. "Can we get out on the ice? Please?!"

"I want to watch more of you guys." Artie admitted. "Ain't no show as funny as your family."

Santana nodded. "Makes me feel good about my own."

Brittany swatted both. "Stop it! They love each other and they fight too much!"

"We don't fight." Laura sniffed. "We disagree."

There was a strange sound. They all looked at Marcy, who had an even look on her face.

"What was that, demon?" Laura demanded.

"Why you lookin at me?!" Marcy spat waspishly.

"I know that was you!"

Mal, who knew for a fact that it was Marcy, snickered. "You can't prove it."

Mike and Quinn laughed.

"I'm going out on the ice!" Mercedes was sick of all of them.

"Sorry, Mercy." Mike twisted his lips.

Mercedes gave him her BS face and sat down to tie up her laces.

"Are you guys going to fight again?" Anna hoped not. "I mean *disagree*?"

"Mikey and Mercy don't disagree." Quinn stated with utter confidence.

"They can't. He'd have to be a man about standing up to her." Marcy finished with her own laces.

Mike's mouth fell open in outrage as Quinn and Mal chuckled.

"Marcy!" Mercedes hissed.

"That is _not_ true!" Mike sputtered.

"What's not true?" Marcy stood up. "That she has you wrapped around her finger, that you never tell her no, that the only way for you to not do as she says is if you have to do what Lucy says cuz she's Mercy's blindspot like Mercy's yours?"

"What?!" Both Mike and Mercedes yelped.

"Boom." Mal taunted. "Truth bomb."

"Lucy is not my blindspot!" Mercedes pointed to her own chest. "Maddie is!"

"Maddie's Lucy's." Marcy denied.

"What?!" Quinn scoffed. "No way! Mal is!"

Marcy sputtered mockingly as Mal stared at her disbelievingly. "Not even!"

"Yes, he is!"

"No, he's not." Laura rolled her eyes. "Maddie's yours. She can do no wrong in your eyes."

Quinn crossed her arms angrily.

"Lucy is not mine!" Mercedes argued. "Marcy is!"

"Ha!" Marcy mocked.

"Lucy is completely your blindspot. We all know it. Even she knows it. You can't believe she doesn't manipulate you." Mal gave her an exasperated look.

"Wha-?! No!" Mercedes looked between him and Quinn's guilty face. "Lucy?!"

Quinn grimaced. "Sorry, Merce."

Mercedes looked horrified. "No!"

"And you're Mikey's. If Lucy isn't manipulating you into changing your mind, he's going to follow you like the pied piper. In fact, she can manipulate him through you. Ergo, Finn." Marcy waved a hand at the tall teen.

Mike frowned. "That's right. Mercy talked me into letting Lucy go out with Finn. Hey! Stop that!"

Mercedes was still horrified. "No!"

"Yes!" Mal glared at her.

"Marcy's yours!"

"I think Marc is." Marcy wrinkled her nose.

"He's Laura's." Mike taunted.

"You maggot!" Laura yelled.

"Marcy's mine." Mal wrapped his arm around the mother of his children. "Marc _is_ yours."

Marcy moved his arm. "Marc is yours, Lady but I am not yours, freak. You listen to Marc like he's the gospel."

"No, that's just the adoration he and Mikey have for him." Quinn denied.

"What?!" Mike and Mal were appalled. "What?!"

"You listen to everything Marc says. You do everything he does." Mercedes pointed out.

"Do not!"

"Yes, you do." Their sisters nodded.

"You quote him a lot." Tina admitted.

Mike gasped, hurt she'd joined their side.

"You always say you're telling him something someone's done to you." Ellen pointed out.

Mal took a step back. "Well!"

"But Marcy is still your blindspot." Mercedes told him.

"I am not." Marcy shook her head.

"Yes, you are." Her siblings nodded, including Mal.

"I am not. I'm nobody's blindspot."

"You're mine." Laura said.

Marcy scoffed.

"You are. I can't seem to bring myself to kill you."

"You wanna kill Mikey, too."

Mike winked at Laura, who groaned and rolled her eyes. "I do but it's different with you."

"Is it? You want to kill Lucy, too."

Quinn blew a raspberry.

"It's still different." Laura repeated.

"You act like I'm your favorite." Marcy sassed.

"You could be! You don't know!"

"Please! Mercy's your favorite!"

"Really?!" Mercedes glowed.

"Mercy?!" Quinn stared at her twin.

"Sorry, Lucy."

"Mercy is not my favorite." Laura denied.

"Yes, she is. She followed in your bland, uptight footsteps. She's your mini me." Marcy folded her arms.

Laura expelled a breath.

"It can't be Lucy because you sold her."

Mal burst out laughing as Mike turned away so he wouldn't join in.

Mercedes gasped as Quinn glared at Laura. "Marcy?!"

"She did!" Quinn crossed her arms.

"Okay, I'm totally confused." Sam whispered.

"For once you're not alone." Artie hissed back.

Sam nodded before glaring at him as it clicked.

Blaine's lips twitched. "It's illegal to buy and sell humans."

"We didn't always know that." Marcy winced.

Mal grimaced.

Laura, Mike, Mercedes and Quinn looked down.

"What did y'all do?!" Artie demanded.

"Laura sold Lucy to Mercy for everything she had in her pockets." Marcy told a truth.

The friends gasped as Puck, Artie and Santana laughed.

"For how much?" Finn wondered.

Quinn hit him repeatedly.

"Ow! Ow! I'm sorry! I just asked a question!"

"$0.25, a pack of gum and a bit of string." Mal told.

Quinn wrapped her hands around his throat.

Puck, Santana and Artie were cracking up.

"Why'd you sell her?" Brittany legitimately wanted to know.

"She got on my nerves." Laura lifted her chin.

Mike pried Quinn away from Mal and gave her to Rachel to calm down. "She went knocking on doors in the neighborhood but Mercy was the first one to open the door and have money."

"Mikey?!" Quinn pouted.

He kissed her cheek.

"$0.25, a pack of gum and string…? Ouch!" Artie couldn't believe it.

"How old were you?!" Santana wiped away tears.

"We were four and Laura was eight." Mercedes said.

"I'm so sorry." Rachel told Quinn.

"Mercy, do you still have the contract?" Mal grinned.

"Shut up!" Mercedes and Quinn both shouted.

"There's a contract?!" Puck was beside himself.

"Noah!" Mercedes glared at him.

Quinn glared, too. "Shut up!"

"Dude, it's not funny." Finn thought it was a little bit funny but didn't want Quinn to spaz out on him.

Puck begged to differ.

"Did you sell any of the other ones?" Artie wanted to know.

"She tried to sell Marce to the circus." Mal pulled on one of Marcy's curls.

Artie broke out in a fresh peal of laughter. "Why didn't it work?"

"There's two versions of it." Mike admitted. "One is the man running it wouldn't accept a five year old from a ten year old."

"And the other?" Blaine was afraid to ask.

"Marcy bit a monkey." Mal grinned.

"What?!" They all couldn't believe that.

"He bit me first!" Marcy scowled.

"You bit a monkey?!" Artie leaned back in his chair to laugh louder.

"Oh my goodness!" Ellen was horrified.

"You guys had _too_ much fun growing up." Kurt was shocked.

"My point still stands." Marcy huffed. "I'm not your blindspot nor your favorite. Mercy is."

"What is a blindspot?" Tina bit the bullet and asked.

"A blindspot is a person whose faults you're blind to." Mike explained. "They can manipulate you, lie to you, do you however they want and you just go for it."

"That sounds awful."

"A favorite is your favorite person on the planet." Mercedes went on. "You love them more than anyone you've ever met."

"That's not the same thing as a blindspot?" Sam was confused.

"No. Your blindspot can be someone you don't even care for much. You just have to be the mouse in your game of Cat and Mouse." Marcy corrected. "You can be wise to the complete mess your favorite is but you love them still."

"Your twin is someone that is basically you in another body." Quinn finished. "You enjoy the same movies, music, activities, humor. You think the same and often speak in unison."

"Like you and Cedes." Rachel realized. "I thought you were twins because you were born a week apart."

"Nope. We're the same person split two ways."

"CC's mine." Karou wrapped an arm around Marcy.

Marcy shoved her away. "Some people think Paw-Paw's mine."

"Who's-?"

"Stop calling me that!" Mike shook a fist, interrupting Artie.

"Mike's special. He's really similar to these two but he also has a bunch in common with Marce." Mal expounded.

"Like you?" Ellen asked.

"I have nearly everything in common with her. We're soulmates."

"Goodness." Marcy rubbed her temple. "Please let us skate."

"Wouldn't that mean you and Mike were twins?" Rachel made the egregious mistake of asking.

"No!" Both brothers yelled.

"Mikey and Mal are really different." Mercedes patted the Jewish songstress's hand. "They act different, think different, look different."

"Yeah!"

"Of course." Marcy blinked disinterested. "Mikey's attractive."

"Damn!" Puck, Artie and Sam winced. Blaine and Finn covered their mouths. Kurt sat down. Mike snickered.

"Marcy!" Laura and Mercedes snapped.

Quinn and Karou laughed.

Mal blew fire.

"Marcy." Ellen spoke softly.

Marcy picked Mally up and walked to the ice. She set him down before stepping onto the ice then pulled Mally forward to hold onto the barrier stand.

"Are you going to ignore me?"

Marcy blew her a kiss before skating backwards. She squatted so she'd be level with Mally, who took his first step.

Mal held up his camera. "This isn't over! Stop calling me ugly!"

"Stop being ugly."

"I gotta pee!" Santana ran up the steps to race to the bathroom.

"Boo Thang, you bad!" Artie loved it.

Marcy shrugged. "Bring Mickey out."

Mal helped Mickey onto the ice and trained the camera on her. "You're gonna go for Daddy?"

Mickey held on tight and looked at her brother moving. She took her first step and wobbled.

Mal was there, steadying her. "You got it."

She put her trust in her father and took another step. It, too, was wobbly but she was getting the hang of it.

Quinn took Beth out. "Go slowly. One step at a time."

Beth did as instructed. "I'm doing it!"

"Go, Beth!" Puck cheered.

Mercedes skated out. "Look at my babies! You're doing so well!"

Brittany and Tina skated out, the blonde as sure as the brunette was skittish. Kurt and Blaine followed.

Sam looked at Puck and Mike. "I can't skate."

"Me either." Puck didn't want to either.

"It's easy." Mike skated out.

"Show off!" Both shouted.

Ellen and Anna, both moderate skaters, skated out.

Rachel sat next to Artie. "I don't want to fall."

Finn was torn. Should he join Quinn or sit with Rachel?

"Watch us, Beth!" Quinn yelled. She tapped her sisters and they all skated away to have more room before doing tricks. Not just little tricks but double axels and jumps.

Finn sat down. "Who knew they could do that?"

"Not me." Puck, Rachel and Sam shook their heads.

"Full of surprises." Artie shrugged.

Laura and Karou skated out and began doing tricks, too. Mike and Mal started doing moves as well.

"I hate them sometimes." Sam uttered.

"Because they're perfect?" Finn watched Quinn land a move he had no idea about but made his body ache just looking at her.

"Yup."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Are we going to record now?" Mercedes asked as she laced up her shoes.

"We can. After we find my kid." Marcy answered as she tied Mally's shoe.

"Huh?!" Ellen looked at the twins.

"My goat." Marcy smiled.

"Marce…" Mal began.

Marcy hit him with the eyepout.

He melted like butter in Florida. "I think we'll have to go to a farm for that."

"We can look online for the nearest farm with goats and sheep."

"Okay." He looked down to help Mickey with her last shoe.

"What?!" Ellen was so confused.

"I'm getting a goat and a sheep." Marcy beamed.

"Why?!" Artie had an upset look on his face. "We already have a pig!"

"Have you ever seen a kid and a lamb?"

"Marcy, no." Mike frowned.

She gave him the eyepout, too. Her bottom lip trembled.

He gulped. "What kind do you want?"

"What?!" Sam was amazed. "Is this magic?!"

"Little sister magic." Puck told him. "You're saying your little sister can't make you do stuff?"

Sam scowled.

"Yup."

Marcy finished telling Mike exactly what kind of goat and sheep she wanted. "We can look it up as soon as we get home."

"We should record sometime today." Mercedes reminded her.

"We will!" Marcy snapped.

Mercedes pouted. "Maybe we can have movie night tonight?"

"No." Marcy frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll pick something stupid."

"I will not!"

"Then what?"

" _Waiting to Exhale_."

"Stupid…"

"No, it's not! Whitney!"

"Ugh!"

"Marcy!" Mercedes scolded.

Marcy looked away.

"We can have pizza." Mercedes enticed.

Marcy didn't budge.

"With veggies and meat, except no olives, green peppers or sausage."

Marcy turned slowly.

"And chips and diet Sierra Mist and store bought cookies."

"Two things." Artie lifted two fingers. "One, diet pop is gross and you've still haven't had store bought sweets?"

"Diet Sierra Mist is good!" Laura, Mercedes, Quinn and Marcy argued.

"No, it ain't."

"Forget you!" Marcy bit off. "Why would we have store bought junk anyway?"

"Because you're adults now! Eat what you want!"

The five blinked while Laura looked guilty. "Have you been eating whatever you want?!"

Laura twisted her fingers. "It was Marc's idea! He kept bringing different food home!"

"What the f-?!"

Mal slapped a hand over Marcy's mouth. "What she said!"

"That's so not fair!" Mike and Quinn glared.

"Laura?" Mercedes felt duped.

"Ouch!" Karou laughed.

Laura hit her. "Look, I'm sorry, guys! It just happened. And you have to work out more because I gained fifteen pounds in two months!"

"That is some dirty, rotten BS!" Marcy flung Mal's hand away. "I'm eating an Oreo!"

"Me too!" Mike snapped.

"I want every cookie there is!" Quinn bit off.

"Ditto!" Mal sniped.

Mercedes crossed her arms with a frown. "Where's the nearest store?!"

"I always thought you guys' diet was bogus." Karou shrugged.

"Let us show you the dark side." Artie rubbed his hands together sinisterly.

Puck literally shivered in excitement. "This is going to be fun."


	8. Chapter 8

**_I would have uploaded this yesterday but the app wouldn't let me and I couldn't sleep so here you go._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

Sam held out the bag excitedly. "You have to try these!"

Mercedes pushed the bag out of her face. "Okay! Calm down, Sammy!"

"But these are my favorites! Nothing is better than a Cool Ranch dorito!"

She took the blue bag from him. "Okay. We'll try them."

He beamed.

Artie wheeled into the chip aisle. "I got a bunch of different pie."

Brittany handed him bags of chips. "Will they go good with these?"

"We're teenagers. All food goes well with other food." He lifted his shoulders.

"I think this is bad." Tina commented as she walked into the aisle.

Marcy, who was with her, couldn't care less. "I'm hungry now."

"Marcy, what are you doing?" Mercedes asked exasperatedly.

"Minding my business."

Artie burst out laughing.

"Are you eating food before we've paid for it?!" Mercedes couldn't set her hands on her hips but she could glare and did so.

"Yup!" Marcy popped a pork rind into her mouth.

Mike, coming around the corner, laughed. "What are you eating?"

"BBQ pork rind." She handed him one.

He ate it. "Wow. Better than the normal ones."

"Mikey!" Mercedes tapped her foot.

Mike stuck his bottom lip out.

"We've been in this store two minutes and we're already breaking rules! I'm telling Laura!"

"Man, you're a snitch!" Mal bit off as he, Ellen and the twins came from the other side of the aisle.

"I am not!"

"Yeah, you are." Karou came into view with Puck, Raven, Blaine and Kurt.

Mercedes let out a growl of frustration. "Shut up! I'm not!"

"Of course not, Mercy." Mike assured her.

"Enabler." Marcy coughed.

"What was that?"

"I said you're an enabler." She stated clearly.

Puck's shoulders moved as he laughed silently.

Artie shook his head. "Little sister backtalk."

"Don't get a spanking." Mike warned.

Marcy's bottom lip poked out.

"Leave her alone, asshole." Mal defended her.

"Don't call me an asshole! You're an asshole!" Mike glared at him.

Mercedes hit both. "Stop cursing in front of these babies!"

"Sorry, Mercy." Both muttered.

Quinn, Rachel, Finn and Beth walked over with Santana and Anna. "We could hear you three aisles over."

"Hole!" Beth announced.

"Mikey!"

Mike grimaced. "Sorry, Luce."

"You get to explain why that's a no-no word."

Mike dropped to his knees in front of Beth. "That's a mean word that we shouldn't say to people we love."

"I don't love you." Mal sniped.

Marcy vibrated from the effort to keep her giggles small.

Mike breathed deeply and let it go. "Tio Mal and I were wrong to say that word. Even if he is a pain in my-"

"Mikey!" Mercedes put her hand on his back.

Mike huffed. "He's my brother and I love him. No matter how hard he makes it. Understand?"

Beth nodded. "Love you, Tio Mi."

He accepted her hug as the women melted.

Laura walked into the aisle. "Are you finished?"

Mike gave her an ugly look. "We don't like Tia Lay though."

"Speak for yourself." Mal just wanted to cause trouble. "I think she's the best sister I've got."

"What?!" Mercedes and Quinn glared at him.

Marcy raised a brow.

"I can't wait to see how this plays out." Mike admitted.

Mal scuffed his shoe against the tile on the ground. "It could be Maddie."

"Take that back, you disgusting rodent!" The Leos shouted.

He kept quiet.

They began screaming at him.

"And this is why we can't go anywhere." Marcy shook her head.

"He didn't say you were his favorite sister!" Quinn was still upset.

"He's not my favorite brother."

Mal made a distraught sound.

Mike grinned. "Is it me?"

Marcy's lips twisted.

"Come on. Say it's me. It can't be Marc. He's a jerk."

Quinn pinched him. "Don't talk about Marc!"

"Ow!" He glared at her as he rubbed his flesh.

"You know he's her favorite." Marcy went to a shelf and picked up a bag of chips.

"It's not fair."

"He is not." Quinn protested. "I love all my brothers equally."

"What about that one?" Karou hooked a thumb at Mal.

Quinn sneered. "Even that one."

Mal stuck his tongue out.

Quinn swiped at him.

Mike held her back. "I don't think you do."

"Cuz she doesn't." Marcy selected another bag. "She know she loves Marc more than the rest of us."

"I do not." Quinn pouted.

"Is that why you don't want anyone else to have his attention?" Mal mocked.

"Shut up! I do not!"

"Ask her what she'd done to all of his girlfriends." He taunted. "Not that she was ever alone."

"Shut up!" Mercedes and Marcy bit off.

"And Laura condoned it all."

"Mal!" Laura glared.

"I feel like there's a story here." Artie wanted to know it.

"There was this one girl Marc brought on vacation with us and Lucy told her that he liked when girls acted like animals." Mal told.

"What?" Finn looked at Quinn in pure confusion.

Quinn turned into Mike to hide her pouting face.

"The girl believed her and starting barking and oinking and a bunch of other stuff." Mal continued. "Not one of them stopped her and of course Marc thought something was wrong with her so he dumped her. That girl went home in tears."

Puck, Artie and Santana laughed.

"Quinn!" Brittany's eyes widened.

"Why'd you do that?" Finn's voice was quiet.

Quinn hitched a shoulder.

"Quinn."

She frowned into Mike's shirt. "He's mine!"

"Quinn!"

She hugged Mike.

Puck wiped away tears. "He's yours? All yours?"

"They've never been well with him dating." Laura admitted.

"Him or Mike." Mal added.

Mercedes, Quinn and Marcy turned to him slowly.

He grinned.

Mike was totally confused. "What?"

Mal swayed.

"Talk, maggot!"

Mal shrugged. "They've kept you from dating plenty of times."

Quinn jumped at him but Mike held her back. "Shut up!"

"Mal, I will kill you." Mercedes threatened but Mike grabbed her, too.

"I will put you in the closet and the dogs will have your spot in bed." Marcy was dead serious.

Mal sulked.

"I don't care!" Mike snapped. "Talk!"

"He wants to know."

"Mal, I'm not playing with you." Marcy stared him deeply in the eyes.

Mal was torn. He was a mischievous little brother to his core but he didn't want to sleep in the closet, where he knew Marcy would definitely put him.

"Mal!" Mike yelled.

Mal took a few steps back. "Remember the girl from Jamaica? The one that said we ate cats and dogs?"

"Mal!" Mercedes and Quinn struggled against Mike.

Marcy pushed her snacks into Sam's arms and marched over to a retreating Mal. "I'm going to kill you!"

Mal played keep away. "She didn't say any of that! They coached Maddie on how to lie and cry on cue and Mad was the one who said it!"

Marcy stepped one way and when Mal went the other, she pivoted and caught him. She wrapped her hands around his throat.

"What?!" Mike was very upset.

"It's not the first time! Or the last!" Mal choked out.

"Shut up!" Marcy applied more pressure.

"Marcy!" Ellen tried to pull Marcy away.

Puck, Artie and Santana were crying, they were laughing so hard.

"Mikey?" Mercedes patted his arm around her waist. "You're kinda squeezing."

"It's tight." Quinn wheezed.

"Mike, are you alright?" Tina was worried and a little jealous. He was angry over a girl he hadn't seen in years?

Mike took a deep breath and stopped squeezing. He let them go. "I'm fine."

"We're sorry, Mikey." Mercedes made her crying face.

So did Quinn. "We're sorry."

Mickey hugged her mother's legs. "Mommy, no!"

Marcy let Mal go and let Ellen pull her away. "Don't you dare go to sleep!"

Artie gasped.

Marcy turned to Mike and hugged him. "We were bad but we're very sorry. But now that it's all out in the open, you can celebrate being the youngest boy now."

Mal gulped.

"Are you alright, Mikey?" Laura asked.

"Why didn't you stop them?" Mike tossed her a salty look.

Laura made a guilty face.

"Please!" Mal croaked as he massaged his throat. "You know she didn't take you having female attention well. Whichever girl they couldn't scare off, she did."

"Shut up, Mal!" Laura shook her fist.

"What the-?!" Mike had to take a few deep breaths.

"You rotten fishhead!"

"Man, I wish I had an older sister." Puck shook his head.

"Have you been ruining my lovelife from the beginning?!" Mike shouted.

"No." Mercedes shook her head.

"No." Quinn shook her head.

"No." Laura shook her head.

"Yes." Marcy nodded.

"Marce?!" They all looked at her slackjawed.

"When did this even start?!" Mike demanded.

"When you were four." Marcy admitted. "You kept boys away from us and we kept girls away from you."

Mike shook his head.

"Are you really mad they didn't let you date as much as you wanted?" Tina folded her arms.

Mike almost said yes but he was a bright man. "You don't understand how it is to have younger sisters."

Santana shrugged. "Honestly if I had a big brother like you or Marc, I'd probably keep chickenheads away from him, too."

Brittany nodded. "He'd be my brother and no girl could have him."

Anna agreed. "It'd be very hard for me to let him go."

Mike huffed. "I'm still mad."

"We're sorry, Mikey." His sisters hugged him.

"Are you sorry you did it or sorry you got caught?" Artie asked.

The four gave him unamused looks.

Mike broke away and hugged Tina. "You're so lucky you're an only child."

"No way. I'd kill to have what you have." She hugged his back. "You have a big brother to look up to-"

Mike scoffed.

Marcy gave him a look. "You don't act like Marc?"

"No!"

"Mikey." Mercedes bit her bottom lip.

"I don't!"

"Okay." Quinn said.

Mike groaned.

"You have a big sister that loves you-" Tina continued.

Both Mike and Laura made noises at that.

"You have little sisters that would do anything for you-"

Mercedes, Quinn and Marcy put a hand somewhere on his body.

"And you have a little brother that adores you."

"What?!" Mal looked like that was the first time he'd ever heard such a thing.

"He does, doesn't he?" Mike thought it over.

"No, I don't!"

"You're right-"

"What?!"

"Thanks, T. I am lucky."

"Why couldn't I have been in the middle?" Artie raised his eyes heavenward.

"Me too." Santana grumped.

Puck sighed. "This sucks."

"At least you guys have siblings." Rachel pouted.

"They're overrated." Marcy muttered as she went back to picking up items- not getting her old ones back from Sam.

"But you're in the middle, too." Tina was confused.

"Yeah and it sucks. Big sisters that try to run your life, big brothers that don't let you do anything, younger brothers that try their best to get you to commit murder and little sisters that work your last nerve."

Quinn sighed. "She's right."

"What are you trying to say, spoiled brat?" Laura glared.

"You're bossy." Quinn didn't care.

"Being the oldest is the worst. Having to take care of ungrateful annoying, smartmouthed, bad kids, who don't appreciate anything you do; getting in trouble when they do something bad; being responsible for everything-!" Laura blew out a breath. "You're lucky!"

"Oh _whatever_!" Marcy wasn't buying that. "You did whatever you wanted! You got to make all the rules, you were the boss, Miss Perfect Can Do No Wrong!"

"I wasn't _allowed_ to do wrong! I had to be an example for you!"

"Well you suck at it."

"Marcy!" Mercedes scolded.

"You suck, too."

"It is hard being in your perfect shadow." Quinn admitted.

Mercedes pouted. "I'm nowhere near perfect."

"Everyone loves you. You never have a naughty thought. You follow the rules without thinking."

"Stop being so bad!" Laura snapped. "Don't get mad at her for doing what she's supposed to!"

"What she's supposed to or what she's been taught?" Marcy stared at her.

"What's so bad about any of that?!" Mal waved his arms. "They tried to _kill_ me! Multiple times! Being the youngest boy blows!"

"What?!" Mike looked at him incredulously. "You have it made, baby! They always treated you with kid gloves because you're the "youngest" and "healed slower" cuz you're diabetic! And you always ran to Marc to protect you, you little runt!"

"You've tried to kill me, you liar! I always had to fight you!"

"Get over it, shrimp!"

"I'm taller than you!"

"And you never let me forget it! But I can still take you, idiot!"

"We'll see about that!"

Finn whistled sharply. The Fabanges turned to him. "Guys?! What's going on?! You're acting like you hate each other!"

"We very well could." Marcy glared at Mercedes, who pouted.

"No, you don't! All my life I've been alone. It was just me and my mom. Then I met Puck and he was like my brother. But I was still alone in my house until my mom married Burt and suddenly I had Kurt. We're brothers now and even if we fight, I love him and he loves me. We're family.

You guys grew up together. You love each other. You're family. You've always had each other and it's like you don't remember that. Not everyone is lucky to have as many siblings as you. Cherish your bond."

"He's right." Brittany agreed. "I was always alone and I still don't have any siblings. I wish I could have what you guys have. Don't take it for granted."

"I gotta call my brother…" Blaine murmured.

Sam nodded.

"Hugs?" Mercedes pouted.

"Ugh!" Marcy looked disgusted.

Laura turned her arm sharply. "We're hugging!"

"Bossy." Mike and Quinn muttered under their breaths.

She glared at them. "Shut up and hug! We're lucky to have each other! Now hug!"

The five hugged her, a few of them upset by it.

Tina clapped. "I'm so glad you're happy again! I don't like when you guys fight."

"We don't fight. We disagree." Laura repeated.

"Ugh!" Marcy rolled her eyes and moved. "Where's the ranch Lay's? I need something I actually like."

"When have you ever had Lay's?!" Laura demanded.

"When I was minding my business!"

"You annoying brat!"

"Guys!" Finn yelled.

Marcy walked off.

Mal grimaced. "I guess it's my responsibility to find her. Come on, guys. Mommy won't hit me if I'm holding you." He picked up Mickey and took Mally's hand.

Laura massaged her temples. "I can't believe I want children."

Mercedes rubbed her back. "At least we can keep finding stuff."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes perked up when Marcy came around the corner. "How are you feeling?"

Marcy grunted and put a container in her basket. She'd gotten one to hold her things.

Mercedes's lips moved before she spoke. "Do you really hate being in the middle?"

"It sucks but I can't change my age." Marcy glared at the row of cookies.

"We love you."

Marcy closed her eyes before opening them and grabbing a container. She handed it to Mercedes without looking at the almost nineteen year old. "Hmm."

Mercedes took the package. "Thank you." She read it. "Ooh! Almonds!"

Marcy smirked. "How many things have you got?"

Mercedes put the pack of cookies in her own basket and looked inside to name things. "I've got cookies, chips, snack cakes. I've had a cupcake before but I literally threw it up."

"How was it?"

"Really sweet."

Marcy peeked into her basket. "You've got a box."

Mercedes blushed. "It's been years. Maybe they've changed the recipe?"

Marcy had an amused look on her face. "Maybe they have? I've got mostly chips and cookies, too but I got this stuff." She held up a yellow box.

" _Nutty Buddy_?" Mercedes read it.

"I think it's peanut butter."

Mercedes's eyes widened in pleasure. "I want to try that!"

"These look like peanuts." Marcy frowned as she reached for a red package of cookies. " _Nutter Butter_. That sounds so janky."

Mercedes giggled. "Who names these things?!"

"I don't know but they're obviously on crack."

Sam walked into the aisle. "Hey! I found these for you guys!"

Marcy raised a brow. "Sam, we've had crackers before."

His face dropped. "But they're cheese! And I've got pizza!"

Mercedes rubbed his arm. "Thank you, Sammy. We like Goldfish."

"I also got Whales cuz I didn't know which you'd like better." He gave them over to the girls.

"Thanks, Clark." Marcy took them. "I'm ready to go. I want to hit up Dylan's before I go home."

"Dylan's?"

"It's a candy bar."

"What's it taste like?"

She frowned at him a little and cocked her head.

Mercedes smiled when she realized what both meant. "She means it's a candy store, Sam."

"Oh!" He flushed.

She averted her eyes. "We can go. I'm honestly ready to just eat something."

The trio walked out of the aisle looking for their friends. The large group was conjugated by the aisle of drinks.

"Whoa baby!" Mercedes and Marcy blinked.

"It's so beautiful." Mike whispered.

"There's so many." Marcy looked up and down the aisle.

Mal nodded wordlessly.

"Can we try all of them?!" Quinn grew excited.

"So much sugar." Mercedes was in awe.

Laura rubbed her jaw/cheek, already imagining the toothache.

Tina grinned. "We've got to get as many bottles as we can carry! You guys are going to love pop!"

"These are some weird flavors." Karou commented as she read a few labels.

"That's it! We're getting all of them!" Artie commanded.

A store worker noticed their intense stares. "Do you need any help?"

"Yeah." Finn nodded. "Our friends haven't had- _anything_ fun before so we're trying to introduce them to stuff. Do you suggest anything we might have forgotten?"

The man blinked. "Um… there's cookies, cakes, cupcakes, pies, chips, candy, chocolate, pop. There's great pickles in the next aisle."

Marcy made a disgusted face. "What hell's with you bloody Americans and pickles?"

"What?" He blinked again.

"You give pickles away with everything here. Sandwiches, chicken, burgers. Are they a type of currency and it's like getting change back?"

Quinn blinked. "She's right. It's on every menu no matter where you go."

"Really?" Karou looked disgusted herself. "Why?!"

Mike thought about it. "Ugh! You're right. Every deli I've been to gives you pickle spears."

Laura, Mercedes and Mal shuddered. "That's so weird!"

Artie looked at them, baffled. "Do you not have pickles where you come from?!"

"Yeah but you have to find a pickle, not get one thrown at you." Marcy shook her head. "Pass."

"But pickles are good!" Brittany protested. "Especially the bread and butter ones!"

"I could go for a pickle." Santana rubbed her stomach.

"That's pregnancy cravings." Marcy snapped. "Pickles are fine."

"C'mon, Mini Mama." Puck cajoled. "You don't like pickles?"

"Pickles are fine." She repeated. "Cucumbers are better."

"That's what I want!" Mercedes' eyes lit up.

"Ooh! I could go for a cucumber!" Quinn nodded.

"No!" Finn looked disgusted. "No vegetables!"

"You guys aren't doing this right!" Tina stamped a foot. "You're supposed to be eating sweets!"

"Cucumbers are sweet." Marcy pointed out.

"No!" Sam was hurt. "You guys are bad at this!"

"Why can't we have sugar and a cucumber?" Mal suggested.

"Let the cucumber go!" Puck bit off.

"But cucumbers are so good." Karou protested.

"Them and broccoli are the best vegetables." Marcy nodded.

"No way!" Quinn frowned. "Carrots are the best vegetable! I want carrots…"

"Come on!" Artie threw up his hands.

"Then I want celery." Mercedes didn't even hear him.

"Do you sell peas here?" Laura asked the dumbfounded salesman.

"We should put this sweet stuff back and just make a salad." Marcy set down her basket.

"No!" Tina wailed.

"T?" Mike stared at her like she was crazy. "This stuff is bad for us anyway. Salads are better for you and taste better."

"How would you know?!" Artie grumped.

"You really don't want to try new stuff?" Ellen was disappointed.

"Yes, they do!" Puck picked up Marcy's basket and shoved it into her arms. "We're getting all this crap and the pop and the damn pickles and we're going to go home and you're going to eat it!"

"Noah?!" Mercedes looked at him askance.

"No, Mama! You're nearly nineteen years old and you haven't had a sweet thing in your life! Your parents were dictators and should be ashamed! You're eating this!"

"It is not that serious." Marcy raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, it is." Finn began tugging down bottles of soda. "You guys haven't experienced anything fun before and it's not fair. You're adults now. You should do whatever you want."

"Finn,-" Quinn started.

Rachel put her hand on the blonde's elbow. "I'm a vegetarian and I'll always love veggies but you guys haven't experienced anything. Try. For us. Please?"

Quinn blew out a breath. "Fine."

"Really?" Karou looked dubious.

"Come on, guys." Quinn looked at her siblings. "It's just food. What's the worst that could happen?"

The store-clerk kept his thoughts to himself. "Do you still need help selecting your beverage choices?"

"We're getting all of them!" Finn set bottles on the floor.

"How are we going to carry them home?" Marcy pointed out.

"We have a delivery system." The man brought up.

Marcy shrugged and shook her head. "I still want my Sierra Mist."

"No!" Puck snapped. "We're getting real pop!"

"Noah!" Mercedes swatted him. "It is real soda!"

He sneered. "No, it ain't. At least get the not diet version."

"How would that taste?" Mike wondered.

"Like pop!"

"You are way too hype right now." Marcy told him.

"Because you guys have been all over the world and done all kinds of crap but you've never done something so important to a kid; pig out on junk food."

"If it's _this_ important to you, we'll do it." Mercedes agreed.

"Thank you. Now there's like five different colas. Do you want to try them all?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

After finding Dylan's Candy Bar, the group went back to Sapphire Inn and conjoined in the boys' apartment. It seemed that literally as soon as they closed the doors, the delivery from the store arrived.

They dragged the various foodstuffs to the den and sat down.

"What should we have them try first?" Sam was excited.

"Pop!" Tina was excited herself. She just knew they'd love it.

A few of them went to get cups for the seven adult Fabanges then came back to give them out. Sam and Tina poured them Coke first.

The Fabanges took sips. Their reactions were instantaneous.

Marcy immediately spat her mouthful back out, unfortunately onto Sam, who was standing in front of her.

Mercedes and Quinn had a hard time swallowing and were visibly struggling. Laura clapped a hand over her mouth to keep it in and fought to swallow.

Mike, Karou and Mal swallowed by accident and ended up hacking and beating on their chests to breath.

"Okay…" Sam looked down.

"What was that?! liquid coal?!" Marcy snapped waspishly.

Sam opened his mouth but Mercedes beat him to talking. "That was like motor oil!"

"Dafuq you give us rocket fuel for, Samson?!"

"Marcy!" Mercedes pinched her.

"That was messed up!" Marcy glared at both.

Mercedes had to agree.

"That was… strong." Mike wheezed.

The others nodded.

"I'm sorry." Sam poured root beer into Marcy's cup. "Try this."

"No!" Marcy frowned.

"Come on, Marcy. It tastes good. I promise."

"Hell naw! I don't trust you no more!"

"Marcy!" Laura snapped.

"You drink it!"

"No." Laura's face turned.

"I thought so!"

"I know you'll like it." Sam pleaded. "Please? For me?"

Marcy wrinkled her nose. "Alright but if it's nasty, I'm spitting it back out. Get ready."

He grimaced but nodded.

She took the tiniest sip. "It's root beer!"

He straightened. "I told you."

Marcy knocked back the soda. "Alright, you won't be taking a shower. What's next?"

"How do you know about root beer?" Tina asked.

"Sam gave me some when we came to New York for Nationals. Then I got some when I gave birth." Marcy shrugged as her siblings tried root beer.

"Oh. Well try pineapple."

"Pineapple?" Marcy's brows lifted.

Tina grinned. "You're going to love it!"

They waited for Tina to pour them pineapple then sampled it.

Marcy's eyes widened. "Holy crap, that's good! But it doesn't taste like pineapple."

Their friends chuckled.

"Fruit flavored pop doesn't taste like the fruit it's supposed to be, BT." Artie grinned widely.

"Well that's bullsh-"

"Marcy!" Laura popped her hand.

"Ow! That hurt, you seahag!" Marcy crossed her arm over her chest.

"Stop cursing!"

"We don't have that rule here." Mike smiled smugly.

Laura leveled a look upon him.

He sat back, grumbling under his breath.

Puck and Artie snickered madly while Finn felt bad for him.

Marcy pinched Laura.

Laura swiped at her. "Ow! Don't pinch me! I'm pregnant!"

"I don't even believe you're pregnant! You probably just said that so we wouldn't hit you!"

Laura pushed Marcy back. "Tina, give them more stuff. They're seriously annoying."

"Hey?!" Mercedes, Quinn and Mal snapped.

" _You're_ annoying!" Mike and Marcy shouted.

Finn whistled. "Guys! Please don't start- _disagreeing_ again!"

They all sat back with matching scowls.

Karou leaned over and opened her mouth.

Marcy pushed her and she fell off the couch.

Karou lifted an arm to point to the sky (ceiling). "Devil woman!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Okay, so I was thinking we'd pick from these movies." Mercedes held up the DVDs.

Marcy was very underwhelmed.

"Come on! Please! They're great movies!"

" _Steel Magnolias_ is a terrible movie. _Mulan Rouge_ is a very terrible movie. I'm sick of seeing _Rent_. And I am _not_ going to watch _Love and Basketball_."

"Why not?" Quinn pressed. "It's got Omar Epps in it."

"I know who's in it. I've seen it enough times. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now."

" _Come on_!" Mercedes wiggled as she whined. "We want to watch one of these!"

"Well I don't. You know what? I'll be upstairs."

"You can't!"

"Actually I can. I hate these movies. I'm not about to sit through crap I don't want to watch."

"What do you want to watch?" Mercedes gave in.

"You don't have to watch what I wanna watch. Watch what you want to. I don't need to be here."

"But we already ordered the pizza and we have chips and candy and soda. The boys are at Mikey's, hanging out and the kids are with Marionette, asleep. This is perfect for us."

"You don't need me here. You can enjoy your junk-food without me. I can go upstairs."

"And do what?" Ellen wanted to know.

"Who cares? I can go to sleep."

"Please don't go, Marcy." Brittany wrapped around Marcy's left arm.

"Please?!" The others girls chanted.

"Ugh! Alright! Shut up!" Marcy had a headache again.

"I'm taking this as an affirmative." Kurt snaked Marcy from Brittany and moved with her towards the door where there was a ringing.

"Yeah, whatever." Marcy regretted the action instantly.

He let her go to throw open the door. The pizza guy handed over the boxes and rattled off the total.

Marcy gave him the money and shut the door on him. She took a couple boxes from Kurt so he could carry the ones he had more easily.

"What movie are you thinking?" Kurt asked as he led her to his and Tina's kitchen.

"Maybe _the Mummy_? I love Brendan Fraser."

"90s Brendan Fraser was very good-looking." He nodded.

"I remember him in that movie with Christopher Walken and Alicia Silverstone. He was so adorable."

"I've never seen that. What's it called?"

Marcy shrugged. "But you've seen _George of the Jungle_ , right?"

"Of course."

"One of the best movies ever."

"Because he was nearly nude throughout the whole thing?"

"Of course."

Kurt laughed. "Little Diva, you are my aspirations in life."

Marcy didn't know how to take that so she just lifted a shoulder and stuck out her tongue playfully.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Oh my goodness! What's that?!"

Marcy turned before turning again with a frown. "Nothing! Go away!"

Ellen stepped closer. "No! You're bleeding!"

"I'm a girl; it happens!" Marcy kept her back to the redhead.

"Not from your stomach!" Ellen touched her back but Marcy ripped away from her. "Please! Will you just turn around?!"

"No!" Marcy pressed her bandages to her flesh and shoved her shirt down.

"Marcy!" Ellen huffed. "I will go get Mal and-!"

"No, you're not!" Marcy swung around and pointed her finger at her girlfriend. "You're going to go back into the bedroom and forget you ever came in here!"

"You can't just declare-!"

"Yes, I can! It's my body-!" Marcy grimaced as a pang shot through her and her knees buckled. She bent slightly and breathed through her mouth.

"Marcy?!" Ellen grabbed her arm. "Do I have to call an ambulance?! Please say something!"

"Shut up!" Marcy croaked.

"I'm trying to help." Ellen was close to tears.

"I have to breathe through pain." Marcy forced herself to straighten. "People squawking in my ear does not help."

"What am I supposed to do, Marcy?! Tell me and I'll do it!"

Marcy almost told her to leave her alone but there was a reason this was taking her so long. "A towel. I need a towel."

"A towel? Like a bath towel?" The brown eyed teen was confused.

"Yes. A washcloth. Wet it and bring it back."

"What am I going to tell Mal?"

" _Nothing_." Marcy stressed. "Why do you think I'm in here while he's in the shower?"

"I think he'd want to know that-"

"Ellen. Just get the towel."

Ellen's face twitched before she fled the closet.

As soon as she was gone, Marcy limped to the chair at her vanity and sat. She tried to relax a bit but not too much. She was instantly in more pain yet more relief. Unfortunately, she began bleeding anew.

Ellen came back with the washcloth. "I have it. Turning on the water to wet it changed the temperature in the shower and I had to tell him that I spilled something in the bedroom-"

"You're rambling." Marcy muttered as she reached for the towel.

"I just-" Ellen took a deep breath. "I've never kept anything from Mal before. I'm not good at lying. I don't like it honestly."

"I never told you to lie." Marcy lifted her shirt as she stood up.

Ellen's eyes widened. "Oh my goodness! That's a lot of blood!"

"Calm down. I've got more on the inside than the out." Marcy pressed the (unfortunately) white cloth to her bruised flesh. She grit her teeth and began pulling the bandages off.

Ellen felt lightheaded. "Oh my-!"

Marcy felt lightheaded herself. The cloth had definitely stuck to her skin because of the blood and it didn't particularly feel like moving. Even with the wet towel, it was painful and she was ripping it at a quicker pace than wise because it hurt so much.

Ellen clapped a hand to her mouth, bile rising up.

Marcy's face contorted as she ripped the last bit off. In a move that proved even more unwise because a patch of skin came off with it.

Ellen squeaked.

Marcy took quick breaths. "I need another towel."

Ellen stared at her midsection.

"Ellen!"

Ellen shook before clapping scared eyes on her love.

"It's okay." Marcy made eye contact. "It's okay."

"But-" Ellen mumbled.

"It's healing. I promise you. I just moved a bit too much today. I'll be fine. Please just get the towel. And hurry. Mal won't be long."

Ellen swallowed hard before running out.

Marcy mopped at her skin but it wasn't really doing anything. There was too much blood on her and the towel.

Ellen returned. "He asked about the spill. I told him I almost got it but that he should stay in the bathroom while I got it all up."

"You didn't have to tell him that. But thank you." Marcy took the wet towel and quickly but orderly cleaned her body. It took every available space on the cloth but her skin was brown/yellow/red once more (mostly).

"It looks better." Ellen didn't even know she had been holding her breath.

Marcy put on the ointment the hospital had told her to buy then began wrapping herself with new, fresh gauze. She tied it tight but not too tightly before ripping off the end and tucking it within itself.

"You're really good at that." Ellen watched her movements as Marcy shed her clothes and tunneled into a nightgown.

"Changing?" Marcy hid the bloody towels in her equally bloody shirt to take down to the laundry room but put the rest of her clothing in the hamper.

"No. The medical stuff. You knew what to do and you stayed calm. And you're really good at cleaning and bandaging. Did the hospital teach you that?"

"No." Marcy looked away.

"Where'd you learn it?"

"You can tell Mal to come out the bathroom now." Marcy left.

Ellen wondered what she was thinking about. She seemed in a pensive mood. Then again she just had to change her own bloody bandages. Ellen nodded. That's what it was. She was just exhausted.

Ellen went to get Mal.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes smiled as soon as she saw Marcy, Ellen and Brittany. "Good morning!"

"Ugh!" Marcy rolled her eyes and started off towards the elevators.

"What's wrong with her?" Anna asked.

"I think it's nightmares." Ellen wasn't too sure because Marcy had been in the bathroom when she awoke.

"Oh." Mercedes understood. "She'll calm down. She just needs to forget them. Let's just stay on her good side during this shoot."

Brittany nodded. "She's becoming a grey raincloud. But this music video should make her shine again. I know Artie's excited."

"So am I!" Mercedes squealed. "Come on! What's Artie's first step?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Are you sure you should be doing this again?" Ellen whispered.

"Doing what?" Marcy was just drained. It wasn't even noon and she'd used up all her energy and people skills.

"Ice skating." Ellen confirmed. "You said you moved too much yesterday-"

"I'm not doing any tricks, Ellen." Even Marcy's voice was tired.

"And you'll be fine?"

Marcy slid her hand into her crimson locks, cupping her cheek and pulled her forward to kiss her softly.

"We're in public." Ellen's eyes were wide in shock.

"Calm down." Marcy made eye contact.

Ellen calmed, not even trying.

"I'm fine. Okay? Just keep an eye on the twins." Marcy kissed her again before getting up and deer-walking over to the ice.

Ellen was worried. Marcy was acting strangely and now she (Ellen) was keeping secrets from Mal. It didn't feel right.

At the moment, Mal was on the ice with Marcy and Mercedes, gliding around to test his flexibility and reaction time.

Ellen wondered if he suspected anything. He wasn't saying anything but that didn't mean anything. Mal was incredibly smart. He had to know. Right? And if he knew, it was stupid of her to keep it a secret. Right?

"Hey." Tina sat down next to her.

"Hi."

"Hi." Anna sat on her other side.

"Hi."

"What's wrong?" Tina asked.

"Is it about Marcy's nightmares?" Anna added.

"Marcy's nightmares?"

"Yeah, Marcy's a little cranky today because of her nightmares last night."

"Ouch. Poor Marcy. I can't imagine having nightmares every night."

Anna nodded. "I hate nightmares. They're so scary. It takes me all day to get over them."

"Me too. Everything all day scares me. I keep thinking that whatever I dreamt about is coming to get me."

Ellen listened to them prattle on about what scared them the most and it made her wonder; was that why Marcy was so mean? She was freaked out all the time from nightmares? Ellen tried to imagine going through life like that and it just seemed awful.

So she made up in her mind that she wasn't going to be a point of stress for Marcy. She was going to make her life easier.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Artie, I'm tired!" Mercedes complained.

"I know, MJ but this is the last shot. The sun's going down. We need this shot."

Mercedes pouted before looking at a quiet Marcy. "What do you think?"

Marcy made a face that was basically a shrug.

"How about we hang out after this? No, I know." Mercedes cut her off when she opened her mouth. "It'll be a low key thing. Just us. And maybe Jude so you can have your best friend-"

"What now?!" Artie said loudly.

Mercedes ignored him. "We can invite Jade and Khandi so we can watch Sammy try to flirt."

Marcy smiled briefly.

"There you go! We can play games- no, I don't mean real games. Drinking games. Like _Truth or Dare_. We can unwind but don't have to worry about getting too plastered for church tomorrow."

Marcy nodded.

"Yay!" Mercedes hugged her.

Marcy moved her arms away.

"Mal, text everybody to meet at Mikey's. We're going to have a ball!"

Marcy held her hand high then brought it down low, indicating Mercedes was too excited.

Mercedes stuck out her tongue. "Fun killer!"

Marcy blinked wide eyes, completely affronted.

Mal and Artie chuckled.

"I've got an idea."

"What?" Mercedes was afraid.

"We should do _Lady Marmalade_."

"What?" Now she was confused.

"We should do a music video for _Lady Marmalade_."

Mercedes's eyes lit up. "Really?! Yay! I love that song! Which version?"

"The new one. Love and respect Patti LaBelle but I want to dress up in a corset."

" _Yes_." Mal drooled.

Mercedes smiled widely. "Okay. How would the video go?"

"Just like the original. Bedrooms and a stage. But this time we have an audience." Marcy made eye contact with Mal.

His eyes burned as he looked back.

"Don't let us get in your way!" Artie quipped.

"Shut up, boy!" Marcy frowned playfully. "Tana's going to be in it."

"Really? San in a corset?" He started drooling himself.

"Who's going to be the audience?" Mercedes asked.

"Our spouses." Marcy told her.

"And who's our fourth?"

"If we left Lucy out, she'd never forgive us."

Mercedes giggled but she knew Marcy was right. "Okay, let's get this last shot in."

The group got together and ran through the shooting until the directors (Artie and Mal) and the leads (Mercedes and Marcy) were satisfied.

"That's a wrap, y'all!" Artie yelled out. A wild cheering came as they tried to gather up their supplies to leave. "Thank you, extras! Your names will be added at the end of the video. Be on the lookout in about a week on YouTube."

The extras shook hands and gave hugs while taking pictures before leaving.

"As for the rest of you guys." Artie addressed his friends. "Once we get all this stuff back to where it belongs, MJ wants us at Mike's to unwind. We're gonna get lit."

"No!" Mercedes smacked his shoulder as Marcy and Mal snickered. "We're going to relax!"

"I can go for getting turnt up!" Santana started dancing.

"Slow yo roll, heifa." Marcy mocked. "That baby in your stomach says otherwise."

"This sucks!"

Brittany wrapped her arms around her. "This is such a magical time!"

"What's so magical about throwing up all the time and my pants getting too tight?"

"Don't blame the baby for you wearing too tight clothes." Marcy slapped hands with Mal.

Santana glared as Artie laughed. "Shut up, Patti!"

"Don't talk to my sister like that!" Quinn taunted. "You're the one wearing tiny clothes!"

"Guys!" Brittany whined.

"Sorry, Britt." All three pouted.

Mercedes swatted Artie, who was howling. "Stop it, Artie! Now come on, guys! Let's get going! Britt, Tana? you can have apple juice."

Marcy lifted a brow.

"Come on, Marcy. Please?! They're pregnant!"

"I didn't knock 'em up!"

Mal buried his face in her curls, trying not to laugh out loud.

"What's the matter?" Brittany asked.

"Marcy doesn't want to share her apple juice." Mercedes set her hands on her hips.

"Isn't it Chang's since we'd be at his place?" Santana crossed her arms haughtily.

"We buy apple juice for Marcy."

"You don't drink it?" Brittany was confused.

"We've never had the chance." Mal moved his face.

Marcy slapped his abs.

"Well we didn't! If she ever saw anyone drinking "her" apple juice, she'd throw a temper tantrum. I don't think she even knows that other people get to drink apple juice. The twins certainly haven't ever had it."

"Marcy?!" Brittany gasped.

Artie gasped for air as he was laughing quite hard. "You wild, Boo Thang!"

"Over apple juice? Really?" Santana snarked.

"What is your point?" Marcy's stare became more pronounced with every word.

"Something is wrong with you."

"You." Marcy looked her up and down.

"BT, stop that." Artie wheeled over to Santana. "You don't want us to drink any apple juice?"

"You bet not touch not one _drop_ of my apple juice." Marcy was dead serious.

His eyes widened. "Is this _Barbershop_?!"

"It's going to be _Shawshank_ _Redemption_ if you touch my apple juice!"

He gulped. "Got it."

Brittany pouted. "What if we're really thirsty? What if there's nothing else to drink?"

"I pay the water bill. There's something to drink." Marcy sassed (but seriously).

"Tap water?!" Santana looked disgusted.

"What's wrong with tap water?!" Marcy, Mercedes, Quinn and Mal wanted to know.

"You're rich. Rich people don't drink tap water."

"For one, tap water is cleaner than bottled water. Two, it tastes better and three, it's cheaper, more biodegradable and smarter." Marcy bit off.

Santana sulked.

"You know, she's right." Artie admitted. "We did a water study in the eighth grade and tap water is better for you."

"Are you sure you just don't want us to have juice?" Brittany stuck her bottom lip out.

"I don't care about you buying juice, Britt." Marcy told her. "Just don't touch my apple juice. I buy juice for the house but not the apple juice. Haven't you noticed that there's grape, strawberry, orange, cherry, passionfruit, açai blueberry, watermelon and various other juices in the pantry?"

"No." Brittany admitted. "I always go for the pop."

"Juice is in there for everyone to drink. I drink other juices. Just don't drink up all the grape and orange. Mickey likes grape and Mal and Mally like orange."

"I've never had most of those." Brittany's cerulean eyes widened.

"They're really good. You should try them."

"Oh!" Mercedes' chocolate eyes widened excitedly. "Try the watermelon juice! It's so good!"

"It is!" Her siblings nodded.

"We can play _Truth or Dare_ and _Never Have I Ever_ drink edition and you guys can take shots of watermelon juice!" Marcy smiled smugly.

"That sounds good!" Brittany clapped.

"Well let's go." Mercedes went to Marionette to collect Raven. "Ooh ooh! Party over here!"

Marcy and Mal exchanged gazes. "That's _your_ sister!"


	9. Chapter 9

"We haven't done this in a long time." Kurt was excited.

"It's just a little thing." Blaine patted his hand before staring at his troublemaking best friend. "Right?"

Marcy blew him a kiss.

"I can't believe I have enough shot glasses for everyone." Mike was surprised as he brought a tray stacked with tiny glasses into the living room. "Thank you, Joey!"

"Joey got you shot glasses?" She frowned. "He got me a pimp cup."

"What now?" Artie needed to hear that again.

"Yeah, a gigantic pimp cup made out of gold with jewels." Mal confirmed.

Mike snickered. "Love Joey!"

"And who is this that gave you such a gaudy display of debauchery?" Kurt wanted to know.

"Our cousin, Joey." Quinn shook her head. "He's amazing but he's a dirty perv."

"What'd he get you?" Finn asked.

"He got me and Mercy crystal flowers."

"That sounds nice." Rachel remarked.

"They're beautiful. He got me a few roses and Mercy a few daisies."

"Why'd he give you two flowers but Mike and Boo Thang cups?" Artie was confused.

"We like to drink." Marcy duhed.

"What about you?" Puck asked Mal.

"I got beer glasses. They're awesome." Mal liked them a lot.

"Like beer goggles?"

The Fabanges looked at him in pure confusion.

"Beer goggles." He repeated. They still stared at him. "You know. When you're drunk so the person you're talking to looks attractive."

It took a few seconds to click but then Quinn said the equivalent in Italian. The others nodded in understanding.

"What is that?" Artie pressed.

Quinn opened her mouth then frowned. "It's- when you- and they are- kinda-"

"It's hard to translate." Marcy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah."

"Have you really never heard of beer goggles before?" Artie found that hard to believe.

"Why would we have heard that before?" Mercedes brought up.

His mouth moved before realizing that they would have absolutely no reason to know those words. "Well!"

"Who cares about bear giggles?" Mike had officially moved on. "Let's drink!"

"Did he just say "bear giggles"?" Puck demanded.

"I-" Artie shook his head. "Forget it. Let's just drink."

The large crowd sat on the floor in a circle. Bottles of liquor were passed around and they filled up their shot glasses (except Brittany and Santana, who filled up on watermelon juice).

"What game are we playing first?" Sam asked.

"How about _Truth or Dare_?" Karou winked at him.

He flushed and ducked his head.

Khandi raised her brows.

Marcy shook her head. "Truth or dare, twin."

"Dare." Karou said confidently.

"I dare you to act like you got some morals."

Karou scowled. "What does that even mean?!"

"I like this girl and I want her to have him. Keep your homewreckin ass away from him because you're not going to ruin his life."

Karou's jaw dropped but she was hardly surprised. "You're not his mother!"

"His mother gave me permission and I promised I'd take care of him so keep your triflin paws to yourself."

"Ugh!" Karou rolled her eyes and sat back on her hands.

"Rou, you have a boyfriend!" Mercedes chided. "Stop cheating on him!"

"I haven't even _done_ anything yet!"

"Yet, you scumbucket…" Marcy scoffed.

"You know she can't be good." Quinn smirked.

Karou stuck her tongue out. "At least-"

Marcy pushed Karou and she fell over.

"Ah!" Karou sat up. "You're all against me! I'll tell Laura!"

Laura had gone upstairs to sleep so she could get up early for her flight back to L.A.

"You're going to tell her we disapprove of you cheating on your boyfriend?" Mercedes gave her a look.

Karou knocked back her drink. "Whatever."

"Do you want him to do you dirty, Twin?" Marcy pressed. "What's the point in a boyfriend that causes you strife and you cause strife? Games are for children and last time I checked, you're 18."

"We're playing a drinking game."

"We're drinking with extra steps."

"She has a good point." Mal said. "Don't you want what we have?"

Karou ignored Marcy's face and lifted a shoulder. "Yeah…"

"Then give this a real go."

Marcy made a new face. "How about you just slow yo roll?"

"No, Mal's right!" Karou folded her legs. "I've got to give this my all-"

"Holy shit…"

"And be in it for the long haul!"

Marcy grimaced. "Yay."

Karou hugged Marcy and Mal. "Thank you so much! I should call him now!"

"Rou, it's 9 at night." Mercedes pointed out.

"So? He should get up and come see me." Karou could not care less.

Marcy felt her own forehead. A headache was brewing.

Mike lifted a hand. "How about we let Rou do her and we get back to the game?"

The party nodded. "Agreed!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Never have I ever done it in public." Jade slurred.

"Define public." Karou demanded.

"What do you care?" Mike smirked. "You've done it."

"Shut up, Mikey!" She jabbed a finger in his direction.

He stuck his tongue out at her.

Jade wrinkled her face. "Anywhere that wasn't a house."

Mike, Tina, Marcy, Mal, Ellen, Sam, Mercedes, Puck, Anna, Quinn, Finn, Rachel, Artie, Jude, Santana, Brittany and Karou drank.

Khandi went next. "Never have I ever had sex outside. Like outside outside."

Mike, Tina, Mercedes, Puck, Quinn, Marcy, Mal, Jude and Karou drank.

Santana bit her bottom lip. "Never have I ever done anything at church."

Marcy, Mal and Sam drank.

"Oooh!" Artie giggled. "Y'all goin to hell!"

"Eat me!" Marcy burped.

The guys clapped.

She raised her arms above her head.

Brittany bounced on her knees. "Never have I ever had sex with someone more than a year older than me!"

Marcy, Mike, Mercedes, Quinn, Karou, Santana, Puck and Jude all drank.

Artie rubbed his face. "Never have I ever slept with more than two girls at once."

Mike, Marcy, Karou, Jude and Mal drank.

"Really?!"

Tina and Ellen did not like that and neither did Jade.

Blaine went next. "Never have I ever been on drugs and had sex."

Each Fabanges drank along with their spouses and Jude. Kurt had to drink as well.

Then Kurt thought hard about his choice. "Never have I done it in water."

"You mean like a shower, pool or lake?" Mal pressed.

Marcy made a rude sound and upended her shot glass.

"Damn, Boo Thang!" Artie laughed.

"Shower." Kurt decided.

The other Fabanges drank along with Puck, Anna, Ellen, Jude, Sam, Brittany and Santana.

"Never have I ever had sex in a pool." Ellen decided to go off of Kurt.

Mal and Marcy drank immediately. Mike, Puck, Karou and Jude also drank.

Mal cleared his throat. "Never have I ever left my partner hanging."

Marcy, Karou, Santana, Brittany, Quinn and Finn drank.

"You've left partners unfulfilled?" Blaine was surprised.

"I'm not a good person." Marcy shrugged.

Karou gave a short giggle and a wink.

Santana and Brittany high-fived.

Quinn pouted. "I used to play games. But I don't do that anymore."

Finn flushed. "It's not like it's on purpose!"

Quinn and Rachel each took a hand. "It's okay."

"Don't care." Marcy monotoned. "Never have I ever- shit…"

"Can't think of anything?" Mike grinned.

"Never have I ever had sex with an older brother." She spat.

He scowled as Mercedes and Quinn drank.

"Never have I ever had sex with a family member period." Karou went. Of course her cousins had to drink. Luckily for the sanity of the others, they were the only ones.

Anna bit her bottom lip. "Never have I ever had sex in a lake."

Marcy and Mal drank.

"Never have I ever had sex outside in the rain." Mercedes said.

Marcy and Mal drank again but so did Mike and Tina.

Puck laughed. "Yeah! Never have I ever gotten caught having sex at school."

Santana and Brittany drank as did Karou.

Quinn cleared her throat. "Never have I ever had sex at the library."

"Look, heifa!" Marcy barked.

Quinn grinned. "Drink up!"

Mal gave Marcy her cup. "Ignore her."

Both drank.

"You guys have done it at the library?!" Finn's eyes were wide.

"Just go!" Marcy bit off.

"Never have I ever done it at the movies."

Marcy and Mal drank along with Puck, Mike, Karou and Jude.

"You guys are nasty…"

"Don't get beat up, Hudson." Marcy threatened.

He gulped as Rachel went next. "Never have I ever done it in a car."

The Fabanges drank along with Puck, Sam, Jude and Jade. Brittany took a few seconds but then she drank, too.

"You've never done it in a car?" Artie was surprised at Santana.

"Came close a couple times but nope." Santana shrugged.

"Wow. We can fix that."

She smirked.

"My turn!" Mike didn't want to hear that (although he was proud of his bespeckled buddy). "Never have I ever been laid on every inhabitable continent."

"You know there's people in Antarctica." Marcy pointed out.

"Yeah but that's research and stuff. No one lives there all the time."

She lifted a shoulder and knocked back her glass. Jude joined her.

"You've been to all the other continents and had sex there?" Artie blinked, his gaze a bit glassy.

"What's your point?" She stared him down.

"Without Mal?"

"Go, Tina!"

Tina bit her lip. "Never have I ever shared a partner."

Mike, Mercedes, Quinn, Marcy, Mal, Puck, Anna, Finn, Rachel, Ellen, Karou, Santana, Brittany, Artie and Jude drank.

"Never have I ever had sex with a pregnant girl." Jude went next.

"Knowingly?" Mike wanted to make sure.

"What?!" Tina stared at him in shock.

"I didn't know she was pregnant until after."

"Mike,-"

"No, I don't have any kids out in the world." He knew what she was going to say before she said it.

She leaned on his shoulder. "Okay."

Marcy, Mal, Karou, Mercedes, Puck, Anna, Santana, Brittany and Artie drank.

Sam (who was mostly sober; his sex life wasn't nearly as fun as his friends') rubbed his hands together. "Maybe we should switch it up? A lot of these have been about sex and I think Marcy's getting alcohol poisoning."

Marcy's left eyebrow raised.

"Sammy's right." Mercedes agreed. "Pick something wholesome, Sam."

Sam perked up. "Never have I ever kept a library book out past its return date."

"Does it count if it's on your record but you didn't do it?" Quinn stared at Mal.

Who stuck his tongue out. "You can't prove it!"

Sam's lips twitched. "It counts."

Quinn knocked back her drink, angrily. "Pond scum!"

Mal made a face. "I'm not drinking cuz I didn't do anything wrong!"

Artie laughed as he drank. "I've done it."

"Why didn't you just extend your due date online?" Marcy asked.

"Because that makes too much sense."

She giggled.

Jade hit her legs in an uptempo beat. "Yay! I like this! But I don't know what to say!"

"Say anything!" Brittany buzzed. "Say something crazy!"

Jade laughed. "Um… I've never killed anybody!"

"That can't count!" Khandi smiled.

Marcy knocked back her drink. As did Mike and Jude.

" _What the fuck_?!" Puck said it.

"Mike?" Tina asked softly.

Mike concentrated on his legs.

"Jude, you couldn't have-" Jade blanched.

Jude hung his head in shame.

"Marcy?" Ellen tried to catch her attention but Marcy stared rigidly at her now empty shot glass.

"No." Finn refused to believe it. "You guys couldn't have- _killed_ anybody."

"Come on, Boo Thang." Artie tried to kid. "You're badass but you wouldn't do something like that."

Marcy stood up and ran out. They could hear a door slam.

"Mike, please talk to me." Tina pleaded.

Mike stood up and lumbered out. He actually left the apartment but they couldn't hear the front door since he'd shut it softly.

Mercedes and Quinn stood up. "Mal?"

"I know." Mal hopped up. He left to see which room Marcy had closeted herself inside.

"Guys, we should probably get some sleep." Mercedes inched out slowly.

"What?!" They yelled.

"That's a good idea." Jude stood up. "Can you tell Marceline Anne I'll call her tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Mercedes hugged him before he left. "We have to find Mikey. We'll see you guys tomorrow."

Quinn took her hand and led her from the room.

As one, the others turned to Karou. "What is this?!"

The biracial Asian shrugged. "I have no idea what any of this is."

"You're saying Boo Thang killed someone and she didn't tell you?" Artie didn't believe it.

"Well she's going to tell me now."

"I think we should probably mind our own business." Blaine said.

"What?!" The others snapped.

"This is obviously a big deal but they don't want to talk. They all left pretty quickly."

"Um… they just admitted to being murderers!" Santana waved her arms.

"I know it's a lot but- I don't know." Honestly it freaked Blaine out but he knew things weren't everything they seemed and he'd choose to believe the best in his friends. "I just think we need to reserve judgement."

Kurt took his hand. "I agree. They're our friends. Period."

"I can walk you two home." Sam offered. "It's late night and you've been drinking."

Jade was stone cold sober now. "Thank you, Sam."

Khandi took her best friend's arm, knowing she was shaken. "Thanks for having us."

They all exchanged goodbyes as Sam ushered the two out.

"Maybe we're all just drunk?" Artie wiped his face. "Maybe the past few minutes hadn't happened?"

Santana and Brittany, the only truly sober ones there, looked at each other.

"Let's just sleep this off." Blaine suggested.

They all begrudgingly agreed. They said their goodbyes and split up, Blaine holding Kurt extra tight before going their separate ways.

 _ **M-A-P**_

"I can't wait for Beth to go to preschool." Quinn ate another pepperoni off her slice of pizza.

"She's going to be so popular." Mercedes gushed as she did the same.

"She's going to be as shy as we were." Mike mumbled as he gave them his pepperoni, not because he didn't like them but because they liked them so much.

"Ugh! You're right!" Quinn wrinkled her nose. "I need to break her out of that!"

"You're still shy, Sissy." Mercedes pointed out.

Quinn pouted. "Am not."

Mike touched her foot with his.

She laid her head on his shoulder. "It's not a lot."

Mercedes cuddled closer to Mike. "It's okay. If it weren't for us being the way we are, we never would have met. And that's the best thing to ever happen in the history of anything happening."

Both smiled at her.

A shadow passed over her face. "I know we're not supposed to talk about what happened but-"

"No, Mercy." Mike lost his wan smile.

"I'm sure if they knew, they wouldn't judge. It wasn't your fault!"

Mike looked away.

"It was mine…" Her voice was a whisper.

He grabbed her hand. "Don't say that. None of what happened was on you."

She sniffled but tears fell. "But if it weren't for me,-"

"I'd do it all over again." He cut in.

Quinn put a hand on Mercedes's closest leg. "Nobody blames you."

Mercedes would never get over her guilt. "What about Marcy? She can't feel too good right about now."

"We can take her somewhere special for brunch tomorrow." Mike suggested.

She rubbed her cheek against his arm. "I feel bad for Jude. He doesn't seem like the type-"

Mike tapped her nose before pointing to himself.

"Right. Sorry."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Do you want these?" Blaine asked gently, not for the first time.

Marcy blinked, seeing him for the first time. "Uh… yeah. Thanks."

He handed over the frozen fries. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She cleared her throat and her face cleared. "Yeah, I just was hungry."

The lie came easily but it sounded off. Even if he hadn't been paying attention to her all these years, he still would've known she was lying.

She rubbed her eyes and shook herself. "Where is everyone?"

"You know you can talk to me about anything? Right?" He made eye contact.

"There's nothing to talk about." She held his gaze.

He sighed lightly. "Okay. Let's find the others."

She watched him walk down the aisle for a moment before following. It was a nice sentiment but she knew if anyone saw the dark recesses of her soul, they'd all despise her. No one could know the truth.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Please go away!" Marcy groaned.

"You're still really sick!" Ellen wasn't sure about the _Never Have I Ever_ confession but she knew she loved Marcy and the eighteen year old just got out of the hospital.

"I'm fine!"

"Are you sure?" Rachel pressed.

"Yes! All of you, go to work!"

"Nice try!" Quinn wasn't going for it.

Marcy rolled her eyes. "Well enjoy being here by yourselves because I'm leaving."

"What?!" The girls yelped.

"I have to redo my photo-shoot plus another one I had planned for last week."

Mercedes rubbed her temples.

"But-" Santana mumbled.

"But what?" Marcy was tired of this.

"What if-?" Santana played with her fingers, staring down at them as if they were the most interesting things in the world.

"What if…?"

"What if it happens again?"

"Is that what you've been thinking?" Mercedes's heart broke for the Latina.

Santana lifted a shoulder.

"San hasn't been sleeping well." Brittany took her girlfriend's hands in hers.

"I keep seeing you there. On the floor." Santana whispered.

Marcy stared at her before coming to stand directly in front of her. She lifted Santana's chin. "Get over it."

" _What_?!" The others were shocked by how callous she was being.

Marcy didn't give them a bit of attention, instead making sure Santana saw how serious she was. "It doesn't matter how; get over it. Push it down, mask it, ignore it. You see it in your head? Put something else there. Drink, take stuff, do anything you have to."

"Marcy, she's pregnant!" Mercedes exclaimed.

"I never said drink alcohol. Drink water, juice, milk. Pop vitamins. Eat. Read books, listen to music, watch TV. Anything. Push that shit down _deep_. If you can't sleep, lie there and force yourself to relive good times. If you have nightmares, wake up and force yourself to relive good times. No matter what you do, ignore it."

"That's horrifying advice!" Rachel blinked.

"Which one of us has been through terrible shit?" Marcy watched Santana. "It's not perfect and it doesn't work 100% 100% of the time but it works. Nothing else matters but this; _everything's fine_."

"Everything's fine." Santana repeated.

"Everything's fine."

Santana nodded and drew in a breath to release it slowly. "Everything's fine."

"Keep saying it until you believe it. Now I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." Marcy left.

"She really deals with things like that?" Anna was horrified.

"That _has_ to take a toll on her." Tina agreed.

Mercedes shrugged, although she thought the very same. "We all have work so we should go. Will you be alright, Tana?"

"Everything's fine." Santana bit her bottom lip.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Brittany held her breath.

The doctor moved the wand across her stomach. "Ah! There we go! See this is the head. See? This is a foot."

Brittany squealed happily.

"Would you like to know the sex?"

Brittany exclaimed loudly, "Yes!"

"Are we sure?" Santana held her right hand.

"You don't want to know?" Artie squeezed Brittany's left hand.

Santana breathed deeply. _Everything's fine_. "Yeah. We should know."

The doctor smiled. "This here is the genitalia. Seeing that it's an appendage that means it's a-"

"Boy!" Artie exploded, happily.

"Yes."

Artie felt like he could walk. "I'm having a boy! Yes!"

"A boy?" Brittany sniffled as tears slid down her face. "I'm having a boy?"

"How do you feel?" Santana asked.

Brittany burst into tears. "I'm so happy!"

Artie and Santana hugged her.

The doctor smiled. "Would you like to hear the heartbeat?"

"Yes!" All three shouted.

He flipped the switch. A low pulsing filled the room.

The three teens were filled with awe and love.

This was the best part of his job. Seeing the happiness in new parents' faces at the life they were bringing into the world. "Would you like pictures?"

Brittany nodded hard. "Yes!"

"I'll be right back." He left.

Brittany took a deep breath. "I can't believe it. We're having a boy. We're having a boy."

"Are you crying again?" Santana asked Artie.

Artie removed his glasses to wipe his face. "Hell yeah! I'm going to have a mini me!"

"You might have two."

He breathed sharply.

The doctor came back in with pictures. "Here you go."

The trio took the pictures and flipped through them happily.

"You can get dressed now and go sign in with the receptionist so I can see you, Santana. Should be about five or ten minutes."

"Okay." Santana nodded.

The doctor gave Brittany napkins to clean her stomach. "Go to the right then left and you'll be at the front desk again."

They nodded as he left.

Brittany wiped her stomach and hurried to redress. "Which ones are we going to send to our parents?"

Santana looked at the two she held boasting _Abrams male_. "I don't know. They're all so cute."

Artie snickered.

She slid him a sideways glance. "What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing." A little smile played on his lips.

She hit him with the pictures.

"Stop, guys." Brittany put her shoes back on. "We have to go to the front desk to sign you in, San. Come on."

"I'm going to send this to my bros right quick…" Artie took out his phone.

"No, Artie!" Brittany got behind his chair. "We have to see about the other baby first then we should get everyone together."

"Alright." He set his phone in his lap and took over pushing.

They left the room and went to the front desk so Santana could sign in. Right on cue, the doctor called them back after five minutes.

Santana disrobed and put on the paper gown. He squirted the gel on her stomach and spread it around with the wand. "Do you want to know the sex for this one?"

"Yes." All three nodded.

"There's the head and a hand. Unless she's hiding something, she's a she."

"A girl?!" Brittany clapped.

"A girl." Everything inside Artie pitched and his ears started ringing.

Santana watched the screen as the doctor turned on the heartbeat. _It's_ _real. I'm having a baby. A girl_. A tear slid down her cheek.

"Would you like pictures of her?" The doctor asked.

"Yes!" Brittany was nearly vibrating.

He smiled and left to get the sonograms.

Artie squeezed Santana's hand. "I just want to say thank you. To you both. I'm having kids. _I'm_ having _kids_. You don't know how much I appreciate this- I just- thank you."

Brittany went around the table and sat in his lap. She hugged him tightly as he cried. Not that she got enjoyment from his tears but she really loved how vulnerable he was being.

So did Santana. Usually she thought weeping men were weak but the fact that he was so emotional because _she_ (and Brittany) were giving him the most precious gift? It made her love him all the more.

The doctor returned. "Uh oh! I see tears."

"They're happy tears." Brittany beamed at him.

That just made the obstetrician's day. "Well here are your sonograms. Both of you can make appointments for next month. Keep active but not too active. Eat right. Avoid drugs, nicotine, alcohol and caffeine. It was nice meeting you all. See you next time."

Artie shook his hand before he left. "Let's get up outta here."

Santana wiped her stomach and hurried to pull on her clothes. They left the room and made follow up appointments with the receptionist before leaving the building.

"I'm hungry."

Artie and Brittany looked at Santana. It'd been quiet for the entire walk to the subway. "What?"

"I'm hungry." She repeated.

"What do you want?" Artie asked.

She shrugged. "Tacos. Real tacos."

"Okay. We can get tacos."

Brittany perked up. "Yay! I love tacos!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Aren't you going to tell us?!" Quinn demanded.

"We're having a boy and a girl!" Brittany shouted.

Their friends rushed the expecting trio to embrace them. " _Congratulations!_ "

Everyone was talking at once and the three was just trying to hug them all and keep up.

"Have you told your parents yet?" Mercedes asked.

Santana shook her head. "Nah. We just grabbed tacos and came home."

"How are you gonna tell them?" Tina wanted to know.

Santana shrugged.

"When I had doctors appointments at camp, I mailed sonograms to my moms in different hallmark cards." Marcy lifted her shoulders.

"Really?!" Brittany's eyes widened in excitement.

"Yeah. I just looked in the grandparent section of the greeting card aisle and chose funny or cute ones."

"I like it." And Santana did. It sounded like just the thing to send her mom.

"I know what we're all thinking here!" Quinn said loudly. They all looked at her. "Names?"

It devolved into chaos…

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Where are we going?" Artie asked as he pushed himself forward.

"You'll see." Mal kissed Mickey's cheek. She hit his face before kissing him back. "Ah!"

Artie chuckled. "She just like Boo Thang, ain't she?"

"Yeah, I gotta watch her."

Puck snickered. "My babies not wild."

Raven proved him wrong by pulling on his Mohawk.

"Ouch!"

She laughed and clapped.

"Come on, Rae! That's not nice!"

Beth looked up and giggled at him.

Puck pouted.

"It's okay, Papa." She squeezed his hand.

He beamed. "Thank you, baby."

Artie watched both fathers interact with their daughters. He was going to have that in less than six months. Maybe that was what this outing was about?

They got on the subway and rode it a few stops away before getting off and going above ground. They went down one street and then another before stopping in front of a giant toy store.

"Why are we here?" Artie pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Every week I take Mickey to the toy store to pick out a toy." Mal explained as they went inside. "I started when she was six months old."

"He turned me onto it around Beth's birthday." Puck added.

"It's Daddy/Daughter Time. I spend some quality time with my princess." Mal kissed Mickey again but she wasn't paying attention to him. She wanted to get down to explore.

"Oh wow." Artie was impressed. "So they just pick out a toy? What about Mally? Doesn't he want a toy?"

"Mally gets to go out on a date with Marcy. I don't know what they do but they spend time just them two. And then we switch. I spend time with just Mally and try to teach him stuff and Marcy has tea parties with Mickey."

"I can't wait to have a boy so I can do that." Puck grinned.

Artie felt happiness well up inside him. He'd get to do both. "So how does this go?"

"Well I'm going to set her down and she'll disappear like her mother. Then I track her down and we'll go through the store trying out different toys until she gets to one she just has to have." Mal told him.

"Beth won't run away but she'll pull me over to what she wants to have." Puck lifted a shoulder.

"Well let's do this!" Artie rubbed his hands together.

Mal set Mickey on her feet. True to his word, she ran off screaming bloody murder. He shook his head with a rueful smile. "See you guys in half an hour."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"This, Papa!" Beth pulled down a stuffed Elmo toy.

"You want that?" Puck carefully hunkered down so he could hear her soft voice in the crowded, loud store.

"No. For Sissy." She implored with wide eyes.

"You think Sissy will like that?

"Uh huh."

Making her honest, Raven shot forward and grabbed at the red toy, squeezing its hand and making it make noise. She laughed and flailed her limbs excitedly.

"Ooh! I think Sissy does like it!" Puck laughed. "Now what do _you_ want?"

Beth walked out of the aisle.

Puck picked up the Elmo toy and stood up. He and a silently amused Artie followed her around two corners.

She pointed up to a shelf she couldn't reach. "That!"

Puck frowned as he juggled his youngest daughter and her toy in one arm and reached for the sock monkey with his other. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Beth gripped her shirt and nodded.

"Okay. Let's see if we can find Tio Mal and your cousin."

She reached for it so he gave it to her. She hugged it close to her body and walked down the aisle.

They went all over the store but finally found Mal and Mickey at a giant display that looked like a nursery.

Mickey was _not_ happy and honestly, Mal didn't look to be either. He was trying to talk her into relinquishing all the toys there but she refused to listen to him.

"Mickey." He said firmly. "You give these kids back their toys."

"No." She stated clearly in English.

Artie and Puck snickered.

Mal sighed, exasperated. "Please, Mick? Do it for Daddy. Be a good girl."

Mickey didn't want to see her daddy sad so she slipped out of the large rocking chair. "Okay."

"Really?" He wasn't sure if he could trust her.

She pulled a large zebra behind her and came up to him with her arms up. He picked her up and she kissed his nose. "Love you, Daddy."

A few women nearby melted.

"Best part is the moms checking you out." Puck whispered to Artie, who raised a brow. "I'm not goin nowhere but I like being looked at. It makes me feel pretty."

Artie fell out laughing. "Come on! Let's go!"

Mal took the zebra from Mickey and wrapped his arms around her tiny body. "Count down the months, Artie. You'll be able to do this real soon."

Artie couldn't wait.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Bear with me._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

"I'm older!" Mercedes argued. "I should be P!nk!"

"So what?!" Marcy argued back. "I'm the most like her!"

"Nu uhn!"

"Yes, I am, Princess!"

"Guys!" Quinn huffed, sick of them arguing and angry to be the mediator. "Can we just do this?! We're already behind! Can we just sing the song?!"

"I'm not Christina! I don't even like her!" Marcy folded her arms.

"Mercy,-?"

"No!" Mercedes made an odd jumping motion. "I always give in! It's not fair!"

"Marcy,-?" Quinn tried again.

"I never get to do what I want!" Marcy growled.

Quinn was about to start pulling her hair out in frustration.

Santana sighed, rolled her eyes and got up from where she and Artie were watching them argue. "Pick a number between 1 and 15."

"What?!" They all looked at her like she was crazy.

"Pick a number between 1 and 15!"

"10." Mercedes said.

"6." Marcy muttered.

"It was 13. Wheezy's singing P!nk. Now can we do this?!" Santana crossed her arms.

Mercedes cheered while Marcy glared at everyone in the room.

"Come on, BT." Artie cajoled. "Can we just do this? We're already behind schedule and the extras won't wait forever."

"Fine." Marcy was truly upset but she wouldn't waste anyone else's time.

"Go first."

Marcy went into the booth and put on headphones. Artie queued up to where she would be singing and she opened her mouth to do so.

Artie had her run through the song a few times before he had Mercedes go inside. Mercedes sung her part happily until she saw her sister glaring at her through the glass. She felt a prickling of guilt.

Artie had all four go in the booth and do the chorus and last parts together. When they were finished, he told them to take a break while he polished it then they'd go over to the theater they'd rented for the express purpose of the video.

The girls got drinks but Marcy went to the bathroom.

"What is her problem now?" Santana asked.

"Maybe I should have just let her sing P!nk?" Mercedes mumbled.

"She'll get over it." Quinn was sure. "She's just a bit angry now."

Mercedes hoped so…

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes tilted and almost fell.

"Would you watch it?!" Marcy snapped.

" _You_ ran into _me_!"

"I was in my space and you clomped into it!"

"Cut!" Artie yelled. "What's the problem, girls?!"

"Her stomping around threw me off!" Marcy barked.

"She _pushed_ me!" Mercedes returned.

"Guys!" Artie was at his wits end. It'd been arguing and mayhem ever since they made it to the theater.

"This is taking forever!" Santana complained.

"I guess someone should teach Her Majesty where her markers are!" Marcy turned her back.

"I'm standing on my marker!" Mercedes felt ready to cry.

"Let's just go through it one more time!" Quinn stood between them. "We have to get this! We've done it 28 times!"

"Whatever!" Marcy threw up a hand. "Just tell her to stay out of my space!" She stomped off to her beginning spot.

Quinn took Mercedes's hand and took her to her spot.

"What am I doing so wrong?" Mercedes asked, heartbroken. "It's like she hates me."

"Of course not, sweetie." Quinn soothed.

"Do you see the way she looks at me? She does. And I don't know why."

"She doesn't hate you. Something's just bugging her and she's being too much of a baby to tell us."

Mercedes severely hoped so.

So they went through the routine again. It went fine but Artie felt it could look better. Big mistake…

They tried to do it one more time but ran into problems as Marcy and Mercedes ran into each other again.

"I'm sorry." Mercedes apologized.

"Just _stop_!" Marcy put up a hand. "You ruin everything you touch! Stop!"

Mercedes felt so attacked. "What did I do, Marcy?!"

"Leave me alone! Can you do that?!"

"But-" Mercedes tried to embrace her.

But Marcy threw her arms away from her. "Don't touch me! Don't fucking touch me! Leave me alone!"

"But, Marcy-!"

"Stay the fuck away from me!" Marcy exploded before running off stage, up the aisle and out the doors.

Mercedes felt so lost as Quinn wrapped her arms around her. Puck and Anna came up on stage and took over comforting their girlfriend.

"I'll go see about her." Quinn said.

Mercedes nodded against Puck's chest as she left.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"What the hell was that?" Mal asked as he finally caught up to Marcy.

"Leave me alone." She paced in jerky movements.

"What is going on with you?"

"Leave me alone!" She turned her back on him.

"So you're just not going to talk to me?" He lifted a shoulder in anger.

"I don't want to talk to anyone." That much was true.

"Well you're going to have to talk to someone one day." He walked away.

She dropped to her knees and tried to pull herself together.

Quinn walked over. "Marce."

"No, Lucy."

"He's right. You're going to have to talk about it one day. This can't go on."

Marcy sniffed hard before getting up. Her face was clear and as hard as marble. "Well it won't be today."

Quinn threw up her hands and followed behind her.

 ** _M-A-P_**

The rest of the shoot was tense. No one talked about what happened and Mercedes stayed far away from Marcy. They got through with the theater shots and Artie had help cleaning up so they could move into the bodiour shots.

That took the rest of the day because of the setting sun and Artie wanting it perfect. Finally he was satisfied and after wrapping, he closeted himself up in the study so he could work on the footage.

Santana went to talk things over with Brittany in their room while Quinn comforted Mercedes at their house.

Mal and Ellen were still dealing with the twins even though Mal was actually upset with Marcy.

Who was upstairs in their bed. She didn't expect anyone to come in but when the door opened, she wasn't very surprised by who it was. "Hi, Mikey."

Mike came over to the bed. "I heard you had a hard day."

"Not as hard as Mercy."

"I know you didn't mean it." He played with her hair.

"I don't know what I mean anymore."

"You know this can't keep going on."

"I'm not trying to have it happen at all."

"Are you open to working on it?"

She nodded.

"Mercy thinks it's a good idea to have a family group session. Cuz you seem to have a problem with everyone."

"I don't even have a problem with her. I'm fine."

He kissed her cheek. "You're not fine. Please do this. For me?"

She nodded again.

"Thank you. We'll probably shoot for this Friday. It'll be okay. I promise you."

She nodded again even though she didn't agree. "Okay."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Hey?" Puck rolled over.

Mercedes didn't expect him to be awake. He never got up before breakfast. "Hey."

"How's today goin to go?"

"What do you mean?"

"You and Mini Mama. You said she didn't even walk her dogs last night. Is she going to avoid you this morning, too or act crazy during your therapy session?"

"I don't know." She admitted. "I don't know what to expect. I just keep getting this feeling like something bad is going to happen."

"Maybe you should cancel it?" Anna brought up.

"We can't keep going on like this." Mercedes shook her head. "Something is bothering her and she won't face it."

"Usually I wouldn't knock her for that but you're getting hurt." Puck sat up.

"I just wish I knew what I did to make her hate me."

"She doesn't hate you." Anna said immediately. "Marcy loves you."

"It doesn't feel like it."

"It doesn't look like it either…" Puck muttered.

"Noah!" Anna chided.

Mercedes kissed Puck. "Thank you for your concern but one way or another, we'll get through this."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Are you ready?" Quinn asked.

"Not really but we have to do this." Mercedes picked up a blanket for Raven.

"Things will be better by the time we're done." Quinn picked up Beth.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The two walked to the front door and put on their shoes to walk across to the other apartment. They let themselves in and took off their shoes to go to the den.

The twins ran over to hug them and chatter excitedly.

Mercedes put Raven on a couch. "Hi, babies!"

"Hi, Tia!" Mally hugged her legs.

"Thank you, sweetie!"

"Hi, Tia Lu!" Mickey hugged her legs.

Quinn rubbed her back as she set Beth on her feet. "Hi, baby!"

"Hi, Mally! Hi, Mickey!" Beth waved.

"Hi, Beth!" Both ran to hug her.

Mercedes's phone rang so she answered it. "Hi, Mikey. You are? Okay. We'll be right down. Bye."

"Mikey?" Quinn lifted a brow.

"Yeah, he's waiting downstairs for us. We're going to take a cab to therapy."

"Okay. Where's Marcy and Mal?"

"I don't know. Babies? Where's Mommy and Daddy?"

Mally pointed out the room. "Updtairs. Mommy sad."

That made Mercedes sad. "Do you think you should go get them?"

Quinn chewed on her bottom lip. "I'll go. You go wait with Mikey."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Where are they?" Mercedes asked.

"They want us to go ahead." Quinn walked over.

Mike ushered them out and to a waiting taxi. The three piled into the back and Mike gave the directions to the therapist's office.

After getting there, they went inside and up to the correct floor. They saw their parents and siblings.

"Maddie!" Mercedes opened her arms.

Maddie rushed into them and hugged her. "Hi, Mercy! I've missed you guys so much!"

"We've missed you, too."

Maddie let her go to hug Mike and Quinn. "Hi!"

"Hey!" Mike hugged her back.

"What's up?" Marc slapped hands with him.

"How's training camp going?"

Marc made a face. "I never thought grown men could be such children."

Quinn giggled as she hugged him. "They better not be messing with you!"

"You'll get 'em?" Marc tickled her.

"Hello, guys." Dr. Jackson nodded.

"Hi, Dr. Jackson!" The trio didn't know he'd be there.

"Dr. Cook thought I would be of some help today."

Dr. Cook nodded. "I'm still getting to know each of you and I thought getting his input would be valuable."

The door opened and two people blew in. But not Marcy and Mal.

"Hi, Momma." Mercedes hugged her.

"Hi, baby!" Rose hugged her back.

"Hi, Daddy." Laura didn't know how she felt about seeing her father for the first time in nearly two years.

Quinn really didn't. "Hi, Daddy."

"Hello." Russell spoke stiffly, very uncomfortable but knowing it was his fault.

"How about we all sit and wait for Marceline Anne and Malcolm?" Dr. Cook suggested.

Everyone found seats around the room and looked to the two psychologists anxiously.

The door opened and Mal let Marcy in first. She took one look at her mother and turned. "Nope."

Mal wrapped his arms around her. "You said you'd do this."

"Nobody said she'd be here."

"Marcy, please. I am begging you. You need help."

"No, I don't. I can take care of myself."

He scrunched down to kiss her quickly. "No. That's why you have me."

She frowned at him kissing her in public but she couldn't deny that it made her feel better to hear him say he had her back. "Fine. But I'm not staying for long."

"Ten minutes. Promise."

"Liar."

He kissed her again and smiled when she hit him. "Come on. Let's sit."

She let him lead her to a chair by Mike. She sat down heavily.

"Hi, Marcy." Maddie spoke first. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too Mighty Mouse."

"I hear you're causing trouble." Marc rumbled.

Marcy pouted at him.

"You stop that. Be a good girl. We don't need this, do we?"

"No."

"You'll be nicer to Mercy and we can all go about our lives?"

"Yes."

"Good. We can go."

"Marc!" Laura hit him. "That's not how this works! That's not how _anything_ works! You haven't seen how this is."

"And you have?"

"Yes! I saw it last week."

"Last week? You were here last week?"

"You didn't tell him?" Quinn accused.

"No, I didn't!" Laura bit off. "And neither did any of you so shut up."

"Tell me what?!" Marc demanded.

"Marcy was in the hospital last week."

"What?!" Their parents were up in arms.

"Why were you in the hospital?" Maddie asked.

Marcy stayed silent.

"Her appendix ruptured." Laura told. "It effected all of her other organs."

"What?!" Their parents weren't getting over this.

"Why didn't you tell anybody?!" Jeanette demanded.

"What could you have done?" Marcy crossed her limbs.

"How serious was this?!" Judy wanted to know.

"She almost died." Quinn said.

"Oh my goodness!" Jeanette and Judy weren't happy about this at all.

"Are you okay?" Rose reached out to touch Marcy.

Who recoiled. "Don't touch me."

"Marcy." Rose whimpered.

"I don't want to do this anymore." Marcy popped up.

"Marcy, wait!" Mercedes got up to grab her wrist. "I'm sorry for whatever I did-!"

" _Stop apologizing_!"

"What do you want me to do?! I'll do it! Just stop hating me!"

"I don't hate you!" Marcy breathed raggedly. "I hate _her_!"

Rose gulped. "I know we-"

"There's no "we"! There's _you_ and how much I _hate_ you!"

"You don't mean that."

"Stop acting like it's not a big deal! I _hate_ you!"

"Marce." Marc got up to embrace his mother. "You don't hate her."

"Shut _up_! I _do_ hate her!"

"Marce!"

"Stop acting like she did nothing wrong! You all just forgave her like she did nothing wrong! Well I remember _every_ thing and I'm _not_ letting it go!"

Rose wiped away tears. "I'm so sorry-"

"You're not sorry." Marcy's eyes narrowed hatefully. "You're sorry you got caught. You're sorry Daddy didn't agree with you."

"Baby, that's not true!" Rose went to grab her but Marcy jerked away.

"Yes, it is! You didn't care about me or what I was going through! All you cared about was you! All you _care_ about is you!"

"No! No!" Rose cried. "I love being your mother!"

"You're no mother of mine."

Rose's breath caught on a sob.

"Marce." Marc hated seeing them so upset. "She's trying."

"Who asked her to try?! I don't want anything from her! She wasn't there when I needed her so forget her!" Marcy shouted.

"Marce-!"

"I'm sorry!" Rose broke in.

"Oh you're _sorry_?" Marcy mocked. "Were you sorry when I was bleeding out?! I needed you! I needed a mother and what did you say?!"

Rose hiccupped.

" _What did you say_?!"

"I said it was nothing." Rose dropped her head.

"What is she talking about?" Marcus demanded of his ex-wife.

Rose cried.

"Rose!"

"Dad!" Marc didn't want them ganging up on Rose.

"I don't want to hear anything, Marcus but her telling me exactly what your sister is talking about!"

"Tell him." Marcy glared. "I want to hear you say it."

Rose sniffled and drew in a big breath. "Marcy had a miscarriage-"

" _Don't say it like it was the only one_!"

" _What_?!" Marcus and Mal both exclaimed.

"No,-!" Rose shook her head.

"You knew _exactly_ what China was about!" Marcy screamed.

"I didn't know!"

"Yes, you did!"

"I didn't! I swear!"

"Yes, you did! You sent me there because I was pregnant and you wanted me to lose my baby again! Yes, you did!"

"I- I didn't!" Rose's voice was going out.

"Rose?" Judy gasped.

Jeanette shook her head, anger and hatred filling her eyes. "I can't believe you!"

"Momma." Marc let his mother go. "That can't be true."

Rose couldn't stop crying. She spun around looking at everyone's judging faces. "I- I- I have to go!"

"Momma!" Marc chased behind her as she ran out.

"Marce." Mal stood in front of Marcy.

"I'm sorry!" She burst into tears. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you! I should- I should've but I didn't because I couldn't but that's not your problem! I was wrong! I just couldn't!"

"How many?"

She bowed her head. "Two."

He took a shuddering breath and reached for her. He pulled her to him and enveloped her in a hug.

Mercedes pulled Marcy away from him gently and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Marce. I had no idea."

"It's not your fault. It's not your fault." Marcy sobbed. "It's _her_! I don't hate you. But I can't see you anymore."

"What?" Mercedes drew back.

"I can't see you anymore. Every time I look at you, I see her. I hear her voice when you talk. I see her features in your face. It's driving me _crazy_. I get so angry and I feel like I hate you but it's not you; it's her!"

"Marcy, it's okay." Mercedes wiped some of her sister's tears away as her own heart broke. "I understand."

"I- I just need some time. I need to separate you in my mind. It's not forever. I just need time."

Mercedes hugged her close. "Okay. Okay."

"I'm sorry." Russell sputtered suddenly.

They all looked to him.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done to this family. I never should have cheated, Judy. It was never about you. It was me. I was unhappy and I didn't know how to deal with it so I ruined us. I started treating you unfairly and I betrayed our vows."

Judy gulped, never expecting this from proud Russell Fabray.

"I was incredibly wrong. I was wrong for letting Laura marry Robert. I'm your father and I know how you feel about people. I knew you loved MarcD but I encouraged you to be with Robert. I have no real excuse as to why. I just did. I'm sorry, sweetheart."

Laura blinked in shock.

"And Quinn, I am so sorry for the way I threw you away when you needed me most. I was just so hurt that this happened that I hardened my heart and acted as if you were a stranger in the street. No daughter should ever go through that and I'm ashamed that I put mine through it."

Quinn gaped.

"I tried to fix it though. I went about it the wrong way but when Rose wanted to be there for MarcAn, I thought that if I got Beth, you'd be able to see her whenever you wanted. On your terms. I wanted her for you."

Quinn shuddered.

"I'm sorry that I messed it all up. I'm sorry I ripped Beth away from Shelby. Are you- are you even happy now?"

She nodded. "I am."

"Good." He looked her in the eye. "I know I have absolutely no right to ask this but can I please meet my grandchildren?"

Quinn sniffled. "Yes."

"MercyCat? MarcAn?"

Both nodded.

"Thank you."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"What happened?" Puck and Anna asked as soon as Mercedes and Quinn walked in the door with Beth and Raven.

Mercedes opened her mouth but the door opened behind them. It was Finn. "Hey, guys. How'd it go today?"

"Is Rachel still at rehearsals?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, she won't be back for a while."

Quinn sighed.

"It went that bad, huh?"

"Oh yeah." Mercedes bit her bottom lip.

"She can't hate you. Can she?" Anna was nervous to hear the answer.

"Beth, go get a juice box." Quinn set Beth on her feet.

Beth stared up at her mother.

"Go on, go."

Beth walked off.

"She does hate you?" Finn couldn't believe it.

"No." Mercedes gave Raven to Puck. "She's just a little hurt right now and I'm not making it better on her."

"What are you-?"

"Mercy, it's not your fault." Quinn cut Puck off. "It's Momma Rose's."

"Didn't you hear her?" Mercedes sat on the bench to take her shoes off. "We acted like we forgot what started all this. We just let it go."

"No." Quinn felt guilty. "We just-"

"Let it go."

Quinn sat next to her.

"What's going on?" Anna asked.

"Marcy just needs some time." Mercedes held onto that.

"Time to do what?" Puck demanded.

"Calm down, I guess. To find forgiveness. To get peace. I don't know but I have to help her any way I can and if that means staying away from her, so be it."

"Staying away from her?!" Puck, Anna and Finn echoed.

"She wants space." It broke Mercedes's heart.

"She can't do that!" Puck was upset for her.

"Yes, she can."

"Well it's not fair!"

Mercedes shrugged helplessly.

"I'm going to go talk to her-!"

Mercedes pulled on his arm. "Noah, no! She's not in a good place right now and she might hurt you and if you say anything to hurt her, Mal's going to spaz out. I don't want you hurt."

"I'll gladly take a whooping if it meant she'd talk to you again!"

"That's sweet but yelling at her isn't going to make her want to be near me. I just know that she asked for time so I'm going to give it to her. Promise me you won't bring it up to her."

He looked away. "I promise."

"Noah, I'm serious. I don't want you in the hospital or her deciding she _never_ wants to see me again."

He sighed. "Alright, Mama. I promise I'll stay in my lane."

She hugged him. "Thank you."

It was quiet for a while before Quinn blurted out. "My dad's coming over tomorrow."

"Cool." Finn took a breath. "We haven't seen them since we left home-"

"No, my father. Dr. Fabray."

Puck and Finn looked at each other with the same hunted expression.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Yeah… life, man._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

Mercedes opened the door. "Hi, PR."

"Hi, MercyCat." Russell smiled at her.

"Shoes." She pointed to his feet.

He looked down and noticed her toes. He correctly deduced that there was a shoe ban. "Ah!" He slipped out of his shoes.

She moved to shut the door but he stopped her.

"No, I have a few things for the children." He opened the door wider and showed off the delivery men behind it.

"Oh!" She was surprised.

"Just set them here." He told them as he pointed to a spot within the "outside" perimeter.

Mercedes waited for them to finish then she shut the door. "We can go into the living room."

He picked up a few packages. They all were wrapped in brightly colored wrapping paper.

Mercedes helped him carry things to the living room. It took a few trips. "Do you want tea?"

"It is about that time." He checked his watch. "Yes, please. Thank you."

She left to go to the kitchen to put a kettle on. Quinn walked in. "Where is he?"

"Living room." Mercedes told her.

"Mal just got here with the twins."

"She's really not coming?" That hurt the brown eyed belter.

"I'm sorry, Sissy."

Mercedes wiped away a tear. "I said I'd support her so I will."

"You're such a good person. I'd make her talk to me."

"Oh, Lucy." Her lips twisted in amusement.

"I would." Quinn tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Help me with the things for tea."

Together, they putted around the kitchen, getting things ready for a typical British tea. Then they went to the living room to set it out.

"We'll go get them." Mercedes said.

Russell nodded.

The Leos left and went to the den. Puck and Finn looked up. "Is he here?"

Anna and Mal looked over.

"Yes, he's here." Mercedes picked up Raven.

"Come on, sweetie." Quinn held her hands out for Beth, who went to her so the older blonde picked her up.

Mal straightened from leaning against the back of a couch talking with Anna. Mickey pulled on his jeans so he picked her up. "Let's go."

Mally wrapped himself around his father's leg. "Go, go!"

"Yeah, go." Mercedes cooed before steeling herself. "Let's do it."

"Do you want company?" Anna asked.

"No, we're fine." Quinn shook her head. "Come on, guys."

The trio and their kids left the den and traveled to the living room.

Russell pulled his teacup from his lips and set it down hastily. "Jr.!"

"Hey, PR." Mal nodded.

"Where's MarcAn?"

"She's resting right now."

He nodded. "Quite right. Quite right. Well let me see them."

Quinn set Beth on her feet. "This is Beth."

"Hello, Beth." Russell inclined his head politely.

"Hello." Beth whispered. She was really shy, especially with new people.

Mal set Mickey down and peeled Mally from around his leg. "This is Mally and this is Mickey."

"Hi." Mally waved. "You Pop-Pop?"

Russell chuckled. "I am Pop-Pop's son. He's my daddy like how he's your daddy." He pointed to Mal.

Mally nodded before smiling.

"Hair!" Mickey yelled.

"Hair?" Russell leaned forward. "You have pretty hair."

Mickey beamed. "Tank coo!"

"This is Rae." Mercedes held Raven out to Russell.

He took the baby. "How old is she?"

"Nine months."

He poked her belly and her stern countenance changed as she erupted into giggles. "She's as giggly as you were."

Mercedes smiled.

"Would you like gifts?" Russell asked the children.

They all brightened. "Yes!"

"Do you know how to read yet?"

"No." They pouted.

"That's okay. Your parents can read which ones are yours."

Quinn sank to her knees and pulled the closest present over. "This says Mally."

Mal took it. "This says Beth."

Quinn helped Beth open it. "Oh look, Beth! It's a violin! Like how Mommy has? Do you like it?"

"Yes." Beth nodded.

"What do you tell Gramps?"

"Tank coo." Beth told Russell.

"Look, Mickey!" Mal had unwrapped a present for his daughter. "It's a flute like Mommy! You like when Mommy plays her flute for you?"

"Yeah." Mickey nodded before trying to put her mouth on it.

Mercedes smiled. "Are they all instruments?"

"No." Russell shook his head.

Mercedes unwrapped one for Raven. "It's a baby harp…"

Russell grinned.

"You wanna play the harp like Mommy?" Mercedes cooed to her daughter, who laughed and reached out to strum the instrument.

"They're not all instruments although a few are. I didn't know if you were teaching them anything. I figured it couldn't hurt."

"I am teaching the twins and Beth the piano." Mercedes pointed to the grand in the corner.

Russell nodded. "There's a lot of toys."

The parents helped unwrap them before making a discovery. "This is for the kids?"

Russell smirked. "No. That's for MarcAn."

"And these?" Quinn raised a brow.

"For you."

"And these?" Mercedes lifted up tap shoes.

"For you."

"And this?" Mal held a massively expensive camera.

"For you."

"Daddy, you didn't have to buy us stuff." Quinn said.

"I've missed birthdays and Christmas. Besides, I wanted to."

Mal checked the camera and it had film in it so he started taking pictures of the kids playing with their toys (and quite honestly the wrapping paper).

"We thank you." Mercedes put a hand on Russell's arm.

"You're welcome." Russell nodded.

"So what does this mean?" Quinn wanted to know. "Seeing the kids and stuff?"

"I want to be in your lives. I've missed so much already by being a huge- jerk. It's going to take time to get everyone's forgiveness but that is my goal. I want my family back."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mal set the twins down in the apartment and let them tear off as he went back and forth transporting their new gifts to the home. He didn't feel like putting them up when he finished so he hoped the dogs wouldn't chew on anything.

A smell assaulted his senses and he followed it to the kitchen. His brows lifted. "You're cooking?"

Marcy looked over before refocusing on her task. "Are you hungry?"

"No wonder the dogs didn't rush me at the door." Each dog, Lord Tubbington and Cupcake were sitting at attention around the island that was filled with food.

Marcy continued shifting pastries from the cookie sheet to a plate.

"What's all this for?"

"I thought you might want to eat."

"This is just for me?"

"Uh huh." She nodded.

"Marce, I can't eat all this food."

"We could do whatever you want with it." She made jerky movements as she put the pan in the sink.

"Marce, look at me."

"We could donate it to a shelter if you want. Whatever you want." She went about cleaning up.

He went to her and pulled her into his arms slowly. "Stop."

She held still.

He raised her chin. "Look at me."

She refused to.

"Look at me." He stated firmly.

She met his eyes.

"I'm not angry with you."

She sniffled. "Why not?"

"Maybe one day I will be but not today. You're hurting and I'm not about to add to that. So you can stop cooking and baking. We can sit down and talk though."

"About what?" Fear filled her eyes.

He knew what she was afraid of and sighed. "We can talk about all the presents PR bought the kids."

"PR bought the kids presents?"

He kissed her quickly. "Yep. He even bought us stuff…"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Come on, Jude." Jade begged.

Jude just looked at her.

Mercedes hurried to come back around the counter. "Did I miss anything?"

Khandi, who she was whispering to, shook her head without taking her eyes off her best friend and her romantic interest. "No. She's still going strong and he hasn't said anything in ten minutes."

"It's a record." Barney, a coworker, cupped his chin. "Jude is quiet but this is ridiculous."

"Please?!" Jade continued begging.

A customer came up to the counter. "I'd like a refill please."

The trio behind the bar didn't react.

"Hello?" The girl faltered.

Jude noticed and came over to take her order. "I know what you're doing. Stop it."

They broke up and started performing different duties.

He handed a fresh mug of coffee to the customer with a smile. "Thank you for your patience."

She smiled brightly. "Thank you!"

Jade scowled at her as she went to resume her seat. She went up to the counter and leaned against the wood. "Jude!"

"Jade." Jude returned quickly.

The others stopped actually performing work and just made a show of it so they could concentrate on listening.

"Please tell me your secrets!" Jade pleaded.

"I don't like this." Jude told her.

Jade sagged limply. "I'm sorry. I won't bug you anymore."

"Thank you." Jude went to wipe down a newly freed table.

Jade's face cracked. She'd thought for sure he'd be the one to crack.

Khandi went to her. "Maybe you should give up, J. He doesn't want to talk about his past."

"It's not fair! How can we get married, have two kids (a boy and a girl), three dogs and a gerbil with an apartment overlooking 5th Ave. if he doesn't let me in?!"

"Jade, you do this all the time. You find a cute boy and you plan your future around him. It's not right. You don't even know if Jude's into you or any girls."

Jade whimpered.

"I think you and Jude could have a great relationship but maybe you can start out as friends?" Mercedes suggested. "He seems like he needs friends."

Jade pouted. "How long will that take?!"

"Jade!" Khandi chided.

Barney laughed. "You really want him, eh?"

"Yes!" Jade whined before getting a handle on her emotions. "I'll be good. I know it's meant to be. I feel it. I know Jude is different. So I'll be his friend."

The trio hugged her.

"But at the first sign of weakness, I'm kissing him!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Puck picked up his phone and looked at the screen. It was a text from Mike. "Hey? You get this?"

Finn blinked before tearing his gaze from the television screen. "What? Huh?"

"Check your phone."

Finn searched for his cell then upon locating it, checked it. "Hey, Mike wants a guys night."

"Yeah. And he said not to do anything to piss Mini Mama off."

"She's talking to my girlfriend." Finn got back in the game.

Puck threw a couch pillow at him.


	12. Chapter 12

Mercedes kissed Raven's cheek repeatedly. The baby giggled and giggled.

Puck tickled under her chin. She ducked her head and laughed.

Anna took her away from her mother and hugged her tightly. "Such a sweet baby!"

Dr. Sarah came inside. "Hello."

"Hello." The teenagers chirped.

"My name is Dr. Sarah Chalke but you can call me Dr. Sarah. Who do we have here?"

"I'm Mercy, this is Anna and Puck. And this little ray of sunshine is Rae." Mercedes introduced them.

"Well hello, Rae." Dr. Sarah shook the infant's hand. Raven beamed at her. "Can you tell me more about Rae? Help me get to know her?"

So between the three, they told Dr. Sarah all about Raven. The blonde doctor checked her out and performed the normal tests on her before doing what every parent and child dreaded, giving a shot.

Puck held her as Dr. Sarah prepped then administered the shot. Raven screamed and cried. Puck felt guilty.

Dr. Sarah gave her a Spongebob bandage and gave Puck a lollipop for his troubles. "That's all for today. You can make another appointment for in three months at the front desk."

"Thank you." Mercedes took the still sniffling Raven from Puck and stood up.

Puck and Anna said their goodbyes and followed Mercedes out. She made the appointment then left the office.

Puck tried to get Raven's attention in the elevator but the baby wasn't having it. "I'm sorry, Lil Mama."

Raven laid her cheek on her mother's shoulder and glared at him.

He pinched her cheek. "Please forgive me. You had to get it."

She turned her head.

Puck stuck his lip out.

"It's okay, Noah." Mercedes walked out of the lift. "She'll get over it."

"Eventually." Anna muttered.

Mercedes's lips twitched. "She won't even remember it by tonight."

Puck didn't care. He didn't like his children angry with him. Even Beth became upset with him when she had to have shots.

They left the building and merged with the traffic on the sidewalk. They went to the subway and got on to ride back to TriBeCa. After, they decided to get pizza.

So they went to a hole in the wall pizza joint. The entire time, Puck tried his best to get Raven to forgive him but she held a grudge like an adult.

It wasn't until nightfall when they were putting the little girl to bed that she reached for him. He was ecstatic and held her tightly. She hugged him and after popping her pacifier in her mouth, she laid on his chest and promptly fell asleep.

Puck went to bed with a smile on his face.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Quinn kept an eye on Beth as she posed and smiled for the camera. The little girl was sitting on a blanket, out of the way but in direct eyeline. Quinn turned her back for a split second to twirl but immediately turned again so she could see Beth.

Beth was still there. She was playing Tea Party with the tea set Russell had bought her (and Mickey).

Quinn wasn't paying attention to the director, who yelled cut. She came alive when the man got in her line of sight. "Huh?"

"Quinn. What's going on? You're not focused."

"I just have to watch my daughter. She can disappear fast."

"What if I have my assistant watch her?"

Quinn bit her bottom lip. "Okay."

"Good!" He clapped. "Ramona! Watch the squirt! Now we're happy and laughing! We're sexy! We're trying to sell, people! Come on!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Do you want to watch this?" Artie asked.

"No." Brittany didn't even look at the screen.

"Do you want to watch this?"

"No."

"Do you want to watch this?"

"No."

This had been going on for three minutes. Their household was trying to find something to watch as they ate dinner (take out as usual). Santana and Mal were in the kitchen while everyone else was in the den.

The twins were eating on their play table, chattering to each other in their own made up language.

Ellen was watching her girlfriend, who'd been quiet for days. It'd been almost a week since their family therapy session and Marcy had barely talked to anyone since and definitely hadn't left the house much. She only left to take the dogs outside to relieve themselves (not even walking them) or the one time to go to Mike's for guys night, where she'd been quiet there, too.

Ellen was worried. Marcy wasn't talking and Mal wouldn't reveal what happened either.

Marcy, for her part, was in a fog. She was just going through the motions but she didn't want to be outside or around other people. She wanted to be alone while miserable. Everyday Mal asked if she wanted to put on clothes and go outside but everyday she refused.

If she wasn't taking care of the twins, she was halfheartedly doing her work or exercising. Something that kept her mind buzzing if not actually busy.

Which was good for her because sleeping had been even worse since that horrific therapy session and she found herself spacing during the day. By a lot. Like now.

She had no idea how it happened but all she knew was that one minute, she was watching Artie and Brittany argue over what to watch and the next, she was back in China. It literally took her breath away and she became panicked.

She started screaming for help but all she could see was darkness. She moved frantically, trying to ground herself in reality but nothing was there. She was alone in a hot box surrounded by dirt and humid air.

Suddenly she felt hands on her body and voices yelling things at her but they were foreign and most assuredly dangerous. No kindness ever reached through the dark.

"Marcy!" Ellen was thoroughly freaked out. She tried to grip her hands but Marcy was fighting her off.

"Boo Thang!" Artie had wheeled over and was trying to keep her still.

"Mal?! Help!" Ellen yelled.

Mal and Santana ran from the kitchen. Santana stopped on the threshold and gasped. Mal sped over and grabbed Marcy. She began fighting him, too before she curled up into herself and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Hey?" He spoke softly. "It's okay. You can open your eyes. It's dark. It's just you and me. It's Mal."

Marcy didn't move beyond shivering violently.

"Come on. Can you feel me?" He placed his hands on different parts of her body, making sure they touched flesh to flesh. "Come on, Marce. Can you feel me?"

Eventually she nodded.

"Open your eyes. It's dark. I promise."

She shook her head.

"Yes, it is. It's dark as night."

She peeled her eyes open and recoiled at the light from the TV.

He waved for Artie to turn it off. "I'm sorry. It's darker now. That light is gone."

She opened her eyes.

"Can you see me?"

She shook her head even though she was staring straight at him.

He touched her face. "I'm right here. Can you feel me? I'm real. You're real. We're real."

She reached out blindly to feel his arm, going down until she could take his hand. She held it tightly within her own and held it to her chest.

He wrapped himself around her and laid her head on his chest. "Can you feel me?"

She nodded, wishing he'd talk more so she could feel the vibrations through his chest.

"Do you want to lie down?"

She thought about it. Would he lie with her? She nodded.

He moved and laid her down. She immediately reacted terribly. He ran his hands over her. "I'm here. I haven't gone anywhere. I'm still here."

She calmed a bit.

He continued touching her, making sure to touch her face.

She caught his right hand and held it to her chest. He could feel her heart galloping away. She was still shaking.

The twins came over and climbed up on the couch to crawl over their mother.

She freaked out but Mal calmed her down, telling her it was her babies. She relaxed and held them close, finally feeling anchored to Earth.

"I have to go to get something. Okay?" Mal told her. "Can someone sit with you?"

Marcy didn't like that at all! She shook her head no.

"Please? It's for you. The person is really nice. She won't hurt you."

"Back soon?" She whispered.

"Yeah, I'll be back soon."

She nodded slowly.

"Okay. Here she goes." Mal took Ellen's hand and exchanged his with Marcy's. He had Ellen sit in his old spot. "Can you feel her?"

Marcy gripped Ellen's hand tightly and nodded.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Mal left quickly.

"H-hi, Marcy." Ellen whispered. She stared at her girlfriend, thinking she couldn't see because she wasn't blinking, even though she was staring straight up at the ceiling.

Artie waved his hand above her face but she merely blinked. "Wow."

Ellen gripped Marcy's hand as tightly as Marcy gripped hers. She held their hands to her own chest.

Mal returned with an icepack. "Hey, Marce. Are you tired?"

Marcy nodded slowly, exhausted beyond measure.

"Wanna go to bed?"

She nodded again.

He moved the twins off of her before picking her up bridal style. She curled into his chest and he left to take her upstairs. Ellen and the twins followed.

He set her on their bed on her side. He pushed the sheets back and tucked her in before turning on some classical music. He tucked the icepack under her first pillow.

He put his hand over her eyes to close them then kissed her gently. "I won't leave you, okay? I'm just gonna stay gone until you go to sleep then I'll be back. I won't let anyone hurt you."

She took a shuddering breath and nodded.

He brushed her hair back before letting the twins hug and kiss her. "Goodnight."

"Night." She whispered.

He went about shutting the curtains to the windows so it'd be darker but the sun was still up so it wasn't like it helped much.

Ellen stared at Marcy, who was very near sleep. "Goodnight, Marcy."

No one expected her to say anything but as they left, they could hear a small, "Night.".

The group went downstairs and back to the den.

Mal sat the twins back at their table, promising them Mommy would be better tomorrow and that they could spend the day doing things to make her feel better.

"So…" Santana drawled out. "Can we ask what the heck that was?"

"She just had an episode." Mal went back to the kitchen to finish what he'd been doing prior to all this.

When he returned, he saw the adults were all looking at him for further explanation.

He sighed deeply. "What?"

"I have never seen that before." Ellen said immediately.

"She tries to control it but you can't control that. Not well. She's just having a rough go of it."

"But man-" Artie frowned. "It was like she was possessed."

Mal blew out a breath and sat down. He began eating even though he was no longer hungry.

"Does it happen a lot?" Brittany worried.

"No. It doesn't. She's a major control freak so this doesn't happen often."

"She seemed so scared…"

"She was." Mal hated that.

"You said it was an episode?" Artie asked.

"Yeah."

"So it's normal for that to happen?"

"That's one avenue it can go in."

Santana didn't know what to say. She'd never seen anything like it before and never wanted to again.

"What was that you were telling her?" Ellen wanted to know.

"I was grounding her in reality. She has to know what's real or not. Physical touching helps." Mal explained. "It helps rebuild the walls."

"Walls?" Brittany was confused.

"The walls she has up to help her get through life."

Artie swallowed. "That's just rough. Poor girl."

"Can we do anything to help her feel better?" Brittany wanted to help.

"Don't mention it. Literally. Don't talk about what just happened. She won't like it." Mal advised. "Help guide her into art."

"What?" Ellen was totally confused.

"Painting or drawing. Art. The sooner she gets creative, the better it is. It's like a purge. But if she doesn't, it increases the likelihood of her having another episode."

"Okay." Artie nodded. "Art it is."

"I'm going to try to stick around tomorrow but in case I leave, make sure she eats. She won't do it if you don't make her and I don't mean make her food and leave her alone. Make her eat and finish it." Mal went on.

They all nodded.

"And keep touching her."

"She hates being touched." Artie wasn't trying to get hit.

"She does but she needs it when she gets like this. She needs to know we're all real. Eventually she will get mad about it and you can stop then but in the meantime, just touch her. A solid two to three seconds. Skin to skin."

"Alright." Artie blew out a breath.

"Ask her if she can feel you and make sure to tell her you're real."

"Got it." Brittany nodded.

"Elle, when you get up in the morning, she might be up, she might not but either way, make her take her medicine."

"What about now?" Ellen asked. "Maybe she should take it now?"

"She has to take it twice a day. We all do. I'm going to wake her up at ten. Hopefully she'll go right back to sleep after but she might not. Ignore anything she might do."

"What's she going to do?" Ellen felt fear.

"I don't know. But if she's cutting, wake me up."

"Cutting?" Santana didn't believe that. "She's not emo."

"More than emo people cut. I'm pretty sure not every emo person cuts."

"But my BT wouldn't try to hurt herself. Would she?" Artie didn't like this situation at all.

Mal stayed quiet.

"Mal?" Ellen curled up to him. "Is she going to try to kill herself?"

He shushed her with a look at the twins. "She's tried before."

Santana sat abruptly.

Brittany started crying.

Ellen sniffled. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to be there for her." Mal answered. "Can you all do that?"

They each nodded.

"Good."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Tina and Anna looked at Ellen. "You're so quiet."

Ellen yawned. "I'm sorry."

"What's going on?" Tina asked.

"Is it because she's miserable about not talking to MercyCat?" Anna asked about Marcy.

"No, no." Ellen shook her head before stopping. "Maybe? I don't know."

"What?" Tina didn't know about Marcy not talking to Mercedes.

"When they went to therapy last week, Marcy decided that she needed time apart from MercyCat. MercyCat is broken up about it." Anna explained.

"Why hasn't anyone told me?!"

"I think it's because you've been working so hard lately." Anna shrugged.

Tina pouted. "I've got to get back into the loop!"

"Marcy loves MercyCat." The blonde looked at the redhead. "She can't not talk to her for long."

"I don't know. She's miserable." Ellen moved slowly.

"Come on. You're acting like _you're_ miserable." Tina prodded.

"I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Why not?"

"I kept jerking awake to make sure Marcy was okay."

"Why wouldn't she be okay?" Anna pressed.

Ellen told them what happened the night before. "I can just hear her screaming. I can see the terror in her face."

"What?"

The trio turned to view Mercedes in the doorway to the kitchen. She came inside all the way.

"What's going on?"

"Mal called it an episode." Ellen said.

"Oh no!" Mercedes gasped. "How is she now? Is she moving about and doing things?"

"Mal's with her now so I don't know. He went out earlier and I was with her and Santana. I tried to get her to draw something but she'd just play with the pencil. Then she wouldn't eat."

Mercedes shook her head. "Oh no. I gotta- where's Lucy? I gotta call her. And Mikey."

"Mal said we couldn't say anything about it to her."

"Oh, we won't. But Mikey could always get her to eat and Lucy can get her to draw. I just want to see her with my own eyes."

"Is there anything we can do?" Tina asked.

"Mal gave us a list." Ellen said.

Mercedes nodded. "If she hasn't eaten all day, I can make her food. Did she eat last night?"

"She didn't get to. She freaked out before she could."

"Yeah, she's got to be starving. I'll call my siblings and meet you over there."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mal looked over when the den flooded with guests. "Hey, guys."

"How's my little sister?" Mike jumped over the back of the couch and landed on Marcy's left side.

"Hi, Mikey." Marcy mumbled.

"Hi, sweetie." Mercedes came closer with Quinn. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me or not. I'm still a little unclear on the rules of this."

"I'm fine, Mercy." Marcy looked at her but there was no spark of life within the sage depths. "But you're not banned from the house. You can come over whenever you want."

"I can? But I thought you didn't want to see me?"

"I can go upstairs or whatever. It doesn't matter." Marcy dropped her head.

"Marcy, draw me a picture." Quinn demanded suddenly.

"Lucy,-"

"I want a picture. Of roses. Yellow roses."

"I just want to lay here."

"I want a picture."

"I don't have anything down here."

"I'll go get them then." Quinn walked out.

"I'll just leave this and get out of your hair." Mercedes kissed Marcy's cheek and handed Mal the food in the storage container.

"Look, Marce. It's gnocchi." Mal opened the container.

Marcy blinked at him.

He grabbed a fork off a plate on the table and tried to hand it to her.

But she merely stared at him.

Mike took the fork and stabbed at the pasta. He brought it up to his lips and blew on it.

"Hey, that's mine." She whispered.

"Really?"

She nodded.

He held the fork to her lips. Her bottom one poked out but he only raised a brow. She opened her mouth slightly and he forced the fork in. "Yum!"

She gave him an exasperated look.

He just smiled. "How's it taste?"

"Hot." She didn't even chew or swallow but held the bit of sizzling dinner on her tongue.

"Chew, silly."

She opened her mouth.

"Hey! Stop being gross and eat!"

She grinned and flicked her tongue slowly.

"You are so bad! Eat your food!"

She leaned over and bowed her head.

He pushed her head back. "Don't spit that out on me!"

Mal chuckled.

"Shut up, termite! That's so gross, Marcy!"

Marcy closed her mouth and chewed. She swallowed without problem and leaned back on Mal with a satisfied smile on her face.

"You're nasty. I'm telling Laura."

"When are you going to talk to her?"

He was blowing fire.

Quinn came back with a sketchbook and a few pencils (two yellow colored pencils). "Draw me a huge vase full of flowers."

"That sounds like work." Marcy told her seriously.

"You can do it." Quinn was confident.

The look Marcy gave her was reminiscent of looks prior when she felt good. "Don't you have work?"

"I quit."

They all looked to her sharply. "What?!"

"I quit." The blonde shrugged carelessly.

"Why?" Mercedes demanded.

"Because I had "too many emergencies"." Quinn didn't care.

"You mean me?" Marcy asked. "Lucy, go back and ask for your job back. I'm fine. Work is more important."

"You're my little sister and nothing is more important than my family. If they don't like that then I don't like them. They said modeling was cutting into my time, too and I hated doing nothing all day. If I can be bored, I can be bored at home."

"Define a vase full."

Quinn beamed.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Mal!" Mercedes called out.

"No!" Mal whined.

"Mal!" She snapped.

He made faces before stomping over to her. "What?"

"Grab that for me." She pointed to a jar of mustard.

He reached up for it then handed it to her. "That it?"

She knew he wanted to go. It was the second week in a row where Marcy hadn't wanted to go shopping so not only did she miss church but Mal had to go shopping with Kurt, Blaine and the girls. "We still have many places to go after this, honey. You won't be going home for a while."

"She hates cooking! How do we run out of food?!"

Mercedes cupped his chin and kissed his cheeks. "Stop pouting. That's why Mally thinks he can cute his way out of trouble."

"My son is perfect." He sniffed.

"Perfectly evil."

"He gets it from his mother."

She smacked his cheek lightly. "How is she doing?"

"Better. She's eating a bit and she laughed yesterday."

"Good." She went to push her cart forward when he grabbed her elbow.

"This no talking thing won't last long. She's just got to get outta her head."

She hugged him. "Thank you, baby. It might suck right now but I know we'll be the better for it in the long run."


	13. Chapter 13

"Is this what you do all day?" Quinn complained.

Puck cut his eyes at her. "I do watch our kids."

"Of course you do, Noah." Mercedes kissed his cheek.

"Well I'm bored." Quinn declared. "This is boring."

"Let's watch a movie." Mercedes suggested.

"But I'm beating my record." Puck gave her wounded eyes.

"Okay. We can go in our room." She cupped his chin and spoke in her baby voice.

"Ugh!" Quinn was disgusted. She reached over her sister and took the controller from Puck. She ignored his startled "hey!" and smashed buttons in quick secession. The TV lit up in bright colors with loud sounds declaring Puck the ultimate winner. "Here."

His mouth was hanging open wide. "How'd you do that?!"

"My brother invents video games." She gave him a salty look.

His face cleared when he remembered that Marc did in fact invent video games. "Whoa! Cool."

She rolled her eyes before taking a smirking Mercedes's hand. "Let's watch _the_ _Notebook_!"

Puck looked over quickly.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"This has been fun." Sam said in a goofy loving voice.

Khandi blushed. "Yeah. It has." It was quiet as they took peeks at each other while trying to look unaffected. "What are you about to do?"

"Go see Marcy." He answered with a shrug.

"You two are really close, aren't you?"

He nodded. "She's my best friend. She won't say it but I know we are."

"Why won't she say it?"

"Mike says she's dead inside."

She gave a giggle. "I'm sure she's not dead inside. Although…"

"Although what?"

"You get cold when she looks at you."

"Huh?" He wrinkled his nose in confusion.

"Whenever she looks at you, it's like a stiff breeze follows and you get cold."

He thought about it. That was how he felt about her eyes in the beginning but not anymore. "You have to get to know her. It goes away."

Khandi smiled. "Does it?"

He kissed her cheek. "Yeah."

She blushed and hid her face. "When am I going to see you again?"

"When do you want to?"

"Well…"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Brittany rubbed her stomach as she came back from the bathroom. Her friends told her that the morning sickness meant the baby was forming well but that didn't make it fun.

Chris, her manager, noticed. "Aw! What's wrong, chickie?"

"My tummy." Brittany pouted.

"Your tummy?" He cooed. "What's hurting your tummy?"

"My baby."

"What?" That surprised him.

"I didn't tell you? I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened. "Why did you let me make you carry all that heavy cat and dog food?! You can't lift heavy objects!"

"I'm fine." Brittany sat on the counter.

"Girl, I've been through enough pregnant girlfriends to know that you do not pick up heavy objects!"

Brittany narrowed her eyes at him.

"What? Just because I'm effeminate, I can't be straight?"

Her eyes slid away.

"I like women a little too much." He sniffed. "It's why I have five kids and three baby mamas."

Her mouth fell open.

"Don't judge me!"

"I'm not!" She said quickly. "Did you love them?"

He fidgeted. "At the time I thought I did."

She pouted at him. "I love my boyfriend and girlfriend."

"It helps- what?! Boyfriend _and_ girlfriend?!"

"I'm pan." She lifted her head with pride. "We're in a thruple."

"Goodness!" He blinked hard.

"Our friend set us up. Two years ago. And now we're pregnant. Me and San."

"San's your girlfriend's name?" He leaned against the counter.

"Santana. She's named after Carlos Santana. Her mom's favorite artist."

"Oh really?" He grinned. "What's she look like?"

"She's the prettiest girl on the whole world." Brittany had stars in her eyes.

"What about your boyfriend? What's he like?"

"Artie's so smart and talented!" She giggled. "When he sings, if I close my eyes, I think he's black."

"Uh oh! He has soul!"

"Oh yeah! I like when he sings with Marcy or Sadie. Their voices blend together so nicely."

"Who's Marcy and Sadie?"

"Sisters. They're our friends and we live with Marcy."

"That's weird. She wants to live with a pregnant thruple?"

"Her boyfriend, girlfriend and kids live there, too."

"Are you kidding me?! She's in one, too and they have kids?!"

"She got pregnant at fifteen. She's a great mommy. The twins are so cute."

"How old are they?"

"Almost two. Their birthday is next month."

"What about Sadie?"

"Her birthday is tomorrow. She'll be nineteen. Her baby doesn't turn one until December."

"Her baby?! Is she in a thruple, too?!"

"Yep. So is their sister, Quinn. She has a daughter, too. She's three."

"So three sisters are teen moms and are in thruples?"

"Yep!" Brittany beamed.

"Do any of them have two boyfriends by any chance?"

"Nope."

"So three sisters like boys and girls?"

"Yeah."

"What's the chances that the whole family would be into LBQT? That's crazy."

"It's not just them. There's eight of them."

"Eight?! Dear heavens! And I thought _I_ had a football team!"

She giggled. "Chris!"

"Are they attractive?" He grinned wickedly.

"Uh huh! Especially their oldest brother! He's the best looking guy I've ever seen!"

He made a face that teasingly said he approved. "What about your other friends?"

"Well there's Ellen in the house. She's Marcy's and Mal's girlfriend. She's really shy and nice. She likes movies and taking pictures."

"But how's she look?" He cut in.

"She's really pretty."

"Ahh!" He sighed wistfully.

She punched his shoulder. "Next door is Sadie, Anna, Puck, Quinn, Rachel and Finn. Anna is blonde with grey eyes. She was a cheerleader with us.

Puck is awesome. He's so hot and bad but he's a good friend. Rachel had to do a lot of work to become as nice as she is now. We didn't like her at first. But she's lovely now.

Finn is really tall and he plays the drums. He plays so many video games, we wonder if he's getting paid to. Seriously, every day he gets off from work, he's playing video games. Artie says that's all they do at guys night."

"Ooh! Guys night? A little extra terosterone thrown around?"

She giggled. "Marcy and Karou go to guys night. They're the only two girls there."

"Who's Karou?"

"Sadie them cousin."

"Oh. Is she a teen mom and in a thruple, too?"

"She just has a boyfriend but no kids. She really likes this guy but he seems really mean. She tells us stuff he's said to her and other people and I don't think he's nice."

"That's rough. Why won't she break up with him?"

"I don't know. She used to hit on Artie but she got her boyfriend and stopped. I'd almost let her hit on Artie again just so she doesn't have to put up with that jerk."

"That's too bad. Who else is your friend?"

"There's Tina and Kurt. Tina's dating Sadie's brother, Mike and Kurt is my favorite unicorn."

"Unicorn?"

"Gay." She sang.

He started chuckling before outright laughing.

"Stop it!" She smiled as she hit his arm.

He got a hold of himself. "Okay, what about this Mike guy?"

"He's super cute and the best guy dancer I've ever seen. He's so nice but his sisters say he's really bad but no one's caught him yet."

"What?" He giggled.

"Yeah, apparently he did a bunch of bad stuff when they were little. He's even bad to their oldest sister. He scares her with frogs."

"Frogs?" He wrinkled his nose.

"She's afraid of them and he keeps giving them to her."

He laughed.

"He's overprotective of his little sisters, too. They say he doesn't let them do anything."

"They got pregnant without him."

She laughed. "They had to sneak around and trick him."

"Really?"

"Uh huh. Sadie and Quinn talk about how they had to trick him all the time, just to let boys get anywhere near them."

"Wow. I don't have any brothers but I can admit to keeping guys away from my sisters."

"I always wished for a brother. Not like Blaine's though. His brother is weird. Very handsome but weird. Sam told me that Blaine didn't really like Cooper."

"Okay, who are Sam and Blaine?"

"They live with Mike. Blaine is Kurt's boyfriend. He's still seventeen but he acts so old. Marcy calls him a forties reject."

He laughed.

She grinned. "You don't even want to know what she calls Sam. He's blonde and she calls him all sorts of mean names."

He wiped away tears. "Man, that's good! She sounds fun!"

"Oh she is! She's so much fun!"

"Got any other friends? Who's Sam dating?"

"This girl at a coffee shop Sadie works at. Marcy got him a date with this black girl. She's so cute but she's really shy. We've only seen her a few times."

"Oh wow. I'm sure she'll open up one day."

"I hope so. She seems really nice. I hope Sam doesn't blow it."

"Ah! Have more faith in him!" He clapped a hand on her shoulder before shaking it. "We've got a customer. I think she needs Brittany Banana to help her out."

Brittany smiled at the silly nickname he'd given her and leapt off the counter to go assist the woman. Chris was a great boss and even better friend.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Would you just take this over there? Please?"

"You didn't forbid her from coming over here and she wants you to come over there. Why don't you take Mercy her birthday present?" Mal crossed his arms.

Marcy scowled at him. "Fine! I'll mail it!"

He groaned and snatched the box from her. "You make everything so hard!"

"Do I make you hard?" She spoke softly.

He stared at her. "You're still hurt."

"It's been three weeks. I'm fine."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I want you to." She pressed close to him.

He growled as everything in him hyper-focused on her. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Thanks for that." She deadpanned.

"We can wait until you get checked out by a doctor. I'm not in any rush."

She ran her hands over his chest and shoulders slowly.

"Stop it."

She trailed her fingers over his arms.

He shuddered. "Stop."

She touched his belly with nearly nonexistent caresses.

He shot forward to kiss her but she backed up. "Why are you teasing me?!"

"We can have fun when you get back. Go give Mercy her presents."

"Ugh!" He didn't want to go now!

"Go." She waved him off.

He stomped out.

Santana peeked around the corner. "You bad."

Marcy turned on her heel. "I don't know what you're talking about."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes squealed as she opened another present. "Thank you, baby!"

Mal lifted a shoulder. "I know how you like old pictures."

Mercedes held up her framed photo of herself from a few months prior. She was laughing in the picture (she had no idea anyone was there or taking her picture) and the sunlight had captured all her good spots. "I look so good!"

"You always look good, Sissy!" Quinn hugged her.

Raven gurgled as if agreeing.

"Thank you, baby." Mercedes made kissy faces at her daughter before kissing Quinn's cheek. "Thank you, Sissy."

Raven lurched forward suddenly so Mercedes caught her and laid her on her stomach, thinking the baby wanted tummy time.

But Raven was on a mission. She wanted the brightly wrapped gift two inches out of reach. She splayed her hands flat against the carpet of the den and pulled herself from one spot to another.

"Merce!" Mal had his camera out in less than a second. "Look! Rae's crawling!"

Mercedes screamed loudly before waving her hands. "Come on, Rae! You can do it! Crawl for Mama!"

Raven continued pulling herself forward. She wasn't going fast but she was going.

Quinn clapped. "Go, Rae! Go, Rae!"

"Yay, Sissy!" Beth yelled.

Raven pulled herself to the gift she wanted and wrapped her body around it.

Mercedes picked up Raven and the present. "I'm so proud of you, my baby!"

Raven giggled.

Mercedes kissed her face. "Mal, send that to me!"

"I got it." Mal stopped recording.

"What present did you want so bad, huh?" Mercedes checked the tag. It was Marcy's. "Oh. Well let's see what it is."

She opened it to reveal a snow-globe. It was special made with the date citing last Christmas. It must have been when they were all outside after finishing opening their presents because all the little people inside the glass were obviously celebrating.

"That's so pretty." Quinn wanted that.

"I want you to give her a kiss from me." Mercedes told Mal.

"Will do." He accepted immediately.

"Dirty boy."

He grinned.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Marcy, you haven't left this house in two weeks."

Marcy frowned as she looked at Ellen. It'd totally come out of thin air (to her; Ellen had been gearing up for this speech for two days). "What?"

"I know- I know you were-" The redhead gulped. "I know you had a thing-"

Marcy's eyes narrowed.

Ellen gulped again. "But you're better now. I want to go outside."

"The door's right there." Marcy stared at her coldly.

"I want you to come with me." Her voice was small.

"No." Marcy barely let the last word leave her mouth before she spoke.

"Marcy, please!"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"I'm an adult. I don't have to do anything I don't want to."

"What are you saying?"

"Leave me alone."

Ellen huffed before getting an idea. She covered her face and started crying softly.

"What are you doing?"

She started crying louder.

Mally walked over and patted her leg. "Don't cry, Mama."

"You're not actually crying." Marcy wasn't fooled.

Ellen sobbed.

Mal walked in and upon hearing the sobs, went straight to his nice girlfriend. "Elle, what's wrong?!"

"I just want to go out!"

"Go out? Go out where? I'll take you."

"Problem solved." Marcy muttered.

"No!" Ellen heaved dramatically. "I want to go out with Marcy! Just us two! A girls thing! But she won't leave the house!"

Mal grimaced. He would not win if he threw his hat in that ring. "Well let me know when you work it out. Come on, Mally, Mick. Let's see what we want for dinner."

The twins hugged their moms and ran out ahead of their dad. Mal left very quickly.

Santana found it hilarious.

Ellen sobbed louder.

"Alright! If I go somewhere with you, will you just shut up?!" Marcy snapped.

"Yes." Ellen pouted.

"Fine…"

"Promise."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Marcy, I know that loophole."

Marcy huffed loudly. "Whatever! I promise or whatever."

Ellen took it. "I'm going to find something great for us to do!"

Marcy and Santana watched her run out, happily. Santana was, too. Marcy was the angry one.

"So your girlfriend makes you do stuff, too?" Santana giggled.

"What are you naming your baby?" Marcy bit off.

Santana sat back with crossed arms and a scowl. It'd been a heated debate between her and her spouses about names for the babies. They'd agreed on Artie Jr. or AJ for the boy but finding a name for the girl was proving especially hard. "Humph!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"What are you wearing?" Brittany asked.

Marcy rubbed lotion onto her yellow legs. "I don't know. She said dressy or whatever."

"You need to smile. You're going out with your girlfriend. You should be happy."

"Either bring it down to a five or get out. I don't want to hear that PollyAnna shit."

Brittany pouted. "You're not nice today. Is it cuz you don't want to go outside?"

Marcy finished with her legs and took off her towel to lotion everywhere else.

Brittany's eyes widened. "You have so many tattoos!"

"Yep." Marcy used a plastic device to put lotion on her back then got up to find underwear.

"You don't wax?"

"No."

"Does Mal like that?"

"It's what he's got." She found a bra and panty set and slipped them on.

For some reason, that made Brittany giggle. "I'm sure he likes it. Is he like Mike?"

"In what way?" Marcy sprayed perfume in a circle and did a pirouette as it fell.

"You know. Down there."

"You want to know if he's as big as Mikey? How would I know? I haven't seen Mikey's penis since I was eleven." Marcy went to her clothes and swept through hangers.

Brittany blushed badly and giggled, embarrassed. "No! Does it have all the same stuff?"

Marcy stopped and looked at her. "Are you asking me if Mal is circumcised?"

Brittany nodded.

"Why?"

"Mike was the first guy I've ever been with who wasn't. It looked so weird-"

"What penis doesn't look weird?"

Brittany blinked. "It was different from other guys."

"Because Mikey knows what the fuck soap is for."

Brittany squealed. "Marcy, you're bad!"

"No, Mal is not circumcised." She went back to looking for clothes.

"Is Marc?"

"No." Marcy monotoned.

"Are your sisters waxed?"

"What the hell, Brittany?" Marcy looked at her, exasperated.

"I've never actually seen any of you guys naked before. We've changed in front of each other but I either forgot to look or there was still some clothes on."

"Why do you care? You have a man. And a crazy Latina."

"I was just wondering." Brittany pouted.

"Well stop wondering." Marcy turned and picked out the first thing she put her hand on. It was a sleeveless deep claret dress with a plunging neckline. Fortunately for the hot weather, it was extremely short.

"That's so pretty!"

Marcy took it off the hanger and slipped into it. She pulled at it, making sure it fit right before making sure all of her curly hair was outside of the dress.

"What shoes are you wearing?"

Marcy shrugged before sitting at her vanity to do her makeup. She left her face bare but instead outlined her eyes in kohl with green mascara then did her lips up in red.

"You're going to be a knockout!"

"Thanks." Marcy knelt by a cupboard that housed heels and chose a sparkly red pair. They'd cost a pretty penny but she liked how they twinkled in the light.

"I love those shoes! What size are they? I want to borrow them!"

"Britt, I wear a eight and a half."

Brittany sulked. "Why are your feet so small?!"

Marcy's lips twitched. "They'd be smaller if they weren't so fat."

"You have such cute feet! Your toes are so small and plump!"

Marcy blushed. She was embarrassed over how fat her feet were. "Like little sausages."

Brittany beamed. "I like how you keep them painted."

"Mal does it for me."

"That's so cute! He does them whenever you can't?"

"Yep. Which is every time."

"What? Why?"

"My legs are short, Britt. My knees go into my stomach so I can't reach my toes if my leg is bent."

Brittany poked her bottom lip out. "I'm sorry!"

"That's the best thing about brothers. You can usually make them do whatever you want."

Brittany smiled. "I still wish I had brothers. Or sisters. Anybody."

"Well you, Artman and Tana will be married one day and his sister and her brother will be your sister and brother." Marcy put on jewelry before grabbing a coat and handbag.

"Oh yeah!" Brittany brightened. "I can't wait!"

"Okay." Marcy turned off the light and left the closet, Brittany on her heels.

The older blonde followed her downstairs. "Have you made Mal do things he didn't want to do?"

"Every day."

Brittany giggled. "I'm serious."

"So am I." Marcy skipped down the stairs.

"You do not."

"I never listen to him. I do the opposite of whatever he says. I'm really mean to him."

"No." Brittany pouted cutely.

Marcy went to the den. Artie wolf whistled loudly. "Shut up."

"Girl, you are wearin that dress!" He waggled his eyebrows.

"I am, ain't I?" She posed.

"Mommy!" Mickey ran to her and hugged her legs. "Pretty!"

"Thank you, baby." Marcy ran a hand over her daughter's curls.

Mickey rubbed her face against her mother's leg.

Mally walked up and pressed his face to her other one. "Mommy."

Marcy set her things down on the couch and picked him up. "What's wrong, Big Poppa?"

He buried his face in her neck. "Leave me?"

"Mama and I are gonna go out for just a little bit. We'll be home way before you wake up."

He reached for her breast and squeezed.

"Ow! Mally!" She pried his hand off.

Artie cracked up laughing and Mal tried not to show his own mirth.

"Marcy, he's hungry." Brittany cooed at the little boy.

"You know you're getting cut off when you turn two." Marcy looked him in the eye.

He pouted. "No cut, Mommy."

"Yes, cut. You're not going to be hanging off my breasts until you're forty."

"Fory?"

"Forty. You."

"Mommy!" Mickey screamed.

Marcy knelt down. "What you want, Bad Mama?"

Mickey beamed. "Go with you and Mama?"

"No. This is just for me and Mama. Daddy's gonna be with you."

Mickey pouted.

"You love Daddy. Stop that." Marcy tapped her bottom lip.

"I think they may love you more than I do." Mal joked.

Marcy gave him a smoldering look with an arched eyebrow.

He closed his legs.

"Okay, give me kisses!" Marcy put on that happy voice adults do in the company of children.

The twins kissed her.

"Now kiss Daddy!"

The twins ran and climbed up on the couch to jump on Mal, who laughed.

Marcy picked up her things and walked to the entryway. She sat on the bench by the door and made sure her wallet, phone and keys were in her handbag along with wipes, tissue and mace.

Brittany, who'd followed, sat next to her. "Maybe I'll make San take me out Monday?"

"Tell her to take you out tonight."

"Can I? It's almost eight."

"It's New York City. The party never stops."

Brittany smiled as she thought about how she was going to convince the fiery Latina to take her out on such short notice.

Marcy put on her shoes and crossed her legs before taking her phone out to text Paris. "I wish I knew where we're going or I'd invite you to come with."

"That's okay. We can go to the movies or something."

"We better not be going to the fucking movies. I look too damn good to be sitting in the dark."

"You were pretty fast in the shower and getting ready."

"I never take long getting ready. I'm very efficient."

"I take a while." Brittany frowned.

"It gets worse when you have a baby in your belly."

Brittany whimpered.

Ecru came up to them and started barking.

"What do you want, dustmop?" Marcy raised a brow.

Brittany snickered.

Ecru barked.

Marcy sniffed. "She's done already?"

"Who?" Brittany asked.

Ellen and Santana walked into the space. Ellen was a vision in an orange frock with many flounces and a respectable hemline (unlike her lady love). "Hi."

Marcy smirked. "Look at you. Who are you trying to impress? Got a boyfriend outside?"

"Marcy!" Ellen blushed.

"Lookin good, Patti!" Santana leered.

"I know." Marcy ran a finger over her right eyebrow. "Got everything?"

Ellen nodded. "I just have to put on my shoes." She held a light tan pair of wedges in her hand.

Marcy stood up and offered her seat. Ellen sat and put on the shoes before getting up. Marcy leaned close and gave her a light kiss. "You look good."

Ellen blushed to her roots. "In front of people?"

"They're going to be fighting soon. They won't remember."

"What?" Santana brought up.

"Come on. Let's go." Marcy held Ellen's coat open for her.

Ellen slipped into it and pulled her hair out before picking up her handbag as Marcy shrugged into her own coat.

"No, really. What?" Santana demanded.

The recent high school graduates left.

Brittany petted Ecru before standing up. "San."

Santana felt dread prickling.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Marcy burst out laughing.

"Is that a good laugh?" Ellen worried.

Marcy dropped her head and shook it.

"You hate it." Ellen felt foolish.

Marcy caught her arm as she turned to walk away. "I don't hate it. I appreciate it so much."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you laughing?"

"Because of course you picked a retro 50s dance to get me out of the house." Marcy took her hand. "And I love it."

"Really?" Ellen was on the verge of happy tears.

"Really."

Ellen hugged her.

"We're still in public."

"But everyone here is old. They won't remember."

Marcy burst out laughing again.

"I'm sorry. That was mean."

"Sounded like something I would say."

Ellen stayed quiet.

"Are you calling me mean, Ms. Lady?"

"Of course not. You're just particular with when you're kind."

"Uhm hmm." Marcy pried her off. "Let's listen to oldies and hear these old timers talk about the good old days like we don't still have milkshakes and racism."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"So this isn't fair." Artie remarked.

"What?" Mal yawned, mostly bored instead of sleepy.

"Our women went out and we're sitting here together."

"I'm amazing company."

Artie laughed. "Is this how they feel when we have guys night?"

Mal shrugged. "I never asked."

"I'm surprised. You totally seem like you'd ask."

Mal hunched his shoulders.

"I know the kids ate but it's like nine. I'm starving."

"Me too." Mal frowned. "How bout a pizza?"

"I knew you were a great friend!"

Mal laughed. "Because I suggested pizza?"

"Hell yeah! Pizza's bomb!"

"It is. But I also want something thick."

"Like your taste in women?"

Mal snickered. "She's like a milkshake."

"I didn't say how _she_ tasted!" Artie howled.

"Man, shut up." Mal tried not to laugh. "I want a Stromboli."

"I never got the difference between that and a calzone."

"Don't tell Mike. He takes Italian food too seriously." Mal rolled his eyes.

Artie chuckled. "Let me get a take out flyer. These girls might be in the wind but we'll be the ones flyin high!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Ellen snuck peeks at Marcy. She had a thousand questions burning in her brain but she was sure all of them were inappropriate and would make the multiracial girl upset.

"What?" Marcy groaned.

Ellen blinked. Marcy wasn't looking at her but somehow she knew she (Ellen) had been staring. "Um…"

"What is it?" Marcy turned slightly instead of stopping walking.

Ellen did stop. "I want to ask you a question."

"What?" Marcy stopped, too.

"I don't want you to get mad at me."

"It's a valid fear."

That didn't make the seventeen year old feel better!

"You won't know until you ask it."

"But-"

Marcy shrugged.

Ellen frowned. "I want to know why you won't talk to Mercy."

Marcy immediately turned her back and started walking.

"Wait! No!" Ellen followed but was surprised when Marcy just walked to a bench and sat down. "Oh."

Marcy crossed her legs and brought her hands (which were in her coat pockets) to her lap. "It's not fair to react to someone based on someone else's actions."

"I don't understand." Ellen sat close to her.

Marcy moved over a bit, feeling crowded. "I know."

Ellen felt horrible instantly. Marcy never knew how much her constant need for space hurt her. "I'm sorry I don't understand you."

"It's not that." Marcy shook her head. "Mercy is a great big sister. If you ever tell her, I'll call you a bald faced liar but Laura taught her well. All of my sisters are great. But only one looks like my mother."

"Your mother-?" Ellen was totally confused. She'd only met the woman twice but they never, not once had a conversation about the woman who bore one of her favorite people in the world.

Marcy bowed her head.

"Do you want to talk about your mother?"

Marcy shook her head.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Both looked up to see a man standing in front of them. "What?"

"Sorry. I don't mean to interrupt but my mother always taught me that a pretty lady should never cry."

Marcy stared at him dumbfounded until she took the tissue he offered. "Thank you."

Ellen stared at him distrustfully. "Thank you."

"My name's Will. And you are?" He offered his hand.

"Marcy." Marcy patted her lashes gently but didn't take his hand.

"And your friend?"

"Girlfriend." Ellen made it clear.

Will grimaced. "Sorry. I don't want to step on any toes."

"It's okay." Marcy said. "We know better than to talk up a stranger. We're not trying to get killed."

"Well I have no weapons." He patted himself down then showed his hands.

"You could improvise."

He blinked. "Well I promise I'm not a serial killer."

"How do you know we're not?"

"Huh?"

"We could have staged this. Lookin for a nice guy to take back to our lair."

"I don't believe that!" He laughed.

"We're out on a Friday night, late, dressed like this."

He looked them over. "But you seem so nice. You were crying."

"I wasn't crying. I had my sad face on. Guys fall for it all the time."

Ellen had never liked Marcy showing her bad side more. Anything to make this guy go away. "This could be a trap."

"No." He waved a hand.

"Then walk us home." Marcy stared at him.

Will swallowed. "Or we could go get a late dinner? How about pizza?"

"We said we may be serial killers, not vampires."

"Right." He bobbed his head.

She stood up and walked really close to him. "Don't worry. All the people I've killed are dead."

Ellen giggled. Then the game of _Never Have_ _I Ever_ popped into her head. Was Marcy serious?

Will was thoroughly freaked out. "Sorry to have bothered you."

"Relax, dark chocolate." Marcy gave him space. "I'm kidding."

"Oh." He took a relieved breath. "That's… that's funny."

"Were you scared?" She bit her thumb.

He eyed her lips. "Nope. Not one bit."

Ellen popped up and took Marcy's hand from her mouth and threaded their fingers. "We should be getting home."

"I really could walk you home." Will offered. "My mother would skin me if I let two ladies walk home alone."

"We're fine."

"I don't want to go home no way." Marcy didn't care about whatever thing they had going on. She was outside for the first time in weeks and the fresh air made her giddy.

"Marcy." Ellen tried to optically plead for Marcy to give in.

But Marcy wasn't going back to Sapphire Inn without a good reason and some strange guy talking to them in the park did not fit the bill. "Nope."

"Maybe we can catch that dinner?" Will suggested. "I know a great pizza place."

Marcy shrugged. "Pizza's good but I kinda wanna Stromboli."

"Ooh! A girl that wants real food?"

"Hey! Salads are good! I just want bread."

"Okay." He held out his arm. "May I?"

She wrapped her free arm around his. "Why were you coming through the park?"

Ellen was gobsmacked. Marcy was trusting this guy?! She was even more hurt when Marcy pulled her along.

"I just got off work." Will was saying. "I usually go around the park but something told me to go through. Guess today's my lucky day."

Marcy grinned. "You bet your smooth skin it is."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Brittany opened the door. "It's really quiet."

Santana yawned. "It's late."

"I wonder if Artie's asleep?"

"We'll see soon." Santana shut and locked the door behind herself before pulling her shoes off.

Brittany, who was shoeless now, held her hand out for her girlfriend then walked to the kitchen for a bottle of water.

Santana took the one she offered. "Want to check the den or will we just see if he's in bed?"

"I'm really sleepy." Brittany admitted.

"Yes! I'm so tired! This kid is dragging me down!"

"Don't talk about my daughter like that." Brittany made kissy faces at Santana's baby bump.

Santana smiled. "Come on."

The two traveled down the hall to their bedroom. They went inside and noticed how dark it was. The only light on was the bathroom's.

They went to the bathroom and washed their faces and brushed their teeth before taking quick "bird baths". They took their dirty clothes to the closet and dumped them in the hamper before finding pyjamas to pull on.

Santana checked on Amy, who was sleeping soundlessly. She smiled because she knew Artie must have fed her even though he was allergic and tried to keep away from the bird.

The girls went to the bedroom and slithered into bed. Artie was there alright. For a guy that could only move half of his body, he slept wild. They giggled before wrapping around each other and him.

It took nothing at all for them to find sleep.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"This has been great but I gotta go." Will yawned. "I got tomorrow- whoa! _today_ off but I got a bunch of errands to run."

"Aww!" Ellen whined. Once she'd made it crystal clear that Marcy was off limits and he'd made it clear he understood, they'd gotten on famously.

"Yeah, I know. But we exchanged numbers so I'll call you. I'd love to meet your boyfriend."

"If you think she's crazy, you're going to run in terror from him." Marcy played with her straw.

"Hey!" Ellen swatted her.

Will laughed as he stood up. "And all because she thought I was a serial killer."

"Guys?!"

Marcy chuckled. "I've got three separate black belts in different martial arts and I've been street fighting since I was a year old. We were always safe."

Will blinked. "Wow. Really?"

"Uh huh."

"Is this a long con?"

"Do you want me to prove it?"

"How?"

Marcy stood up and pulled her skirt down. "Try to attack me."

"I couldn't do that."

"Just try."

Will looked at Ellen, who'd never seen Marcy hurt a fly and shrugged. He shrugged as well before shooting out a hand.

Marcy took it, went along it, twisted it behind his head then kicked his legs from under himself before making him lie on the floor like a folded paper crane.

"Wow!" Ellen was shocked.

"Okay! Uncle!" Will called out.

Marcy let him go.

He stood up, rubbing his arm. "That kinda hurt."

"It's supposed to."

"Now I know not to piss you off."

"Put that thought out of your head."

He smiled.

"You assuredly will."

It faded.

No one said anything as it struck the rest of them as odd but Marcy only knew it as the truth and had no reason to add to it.

"Okay…" Will drawled out. "I'll see you guys soon."

"Bye!" Marcy waved.

"Bye." Ellen said as he limped out.

Marcy sat back down. "Are you ready to leave? It's really late and I gotta take my medicine and write and it's already tomorrow."

"Write?" Ellen was confused.

Marcy sipped the last of her drink. "My diary."

"Can't you skip a day?"

"No." Marcy frowned.

"Sorry."

"Why?"

"Why- why am I sorry? I don't know. Sorry for making you mad."

"I'm not mad. Why would you think I'm mad?"

"You didn't seem too happy when I suggested you skip writing in your diary."

"It's just a thing. G-Ma would have a heart-attack but honestly it's for my own peace of mind. So I know in my own words what happened to me."

"So if you read a diary entry from say a year ago, it'd have exactly what happened to you on that date?"

"Yes."

"Wow." Ellen wanted to see that.

"Come on." Marcy kissed her cheek before getting up and leaving money on the table.

Ellen smiled and followed.

Marcy went to the restroom to wash her face and hands so Ellen did, too. Both left then left the restaurant. They walked home slowly so Marcy could enjoy the night air.

The security for their building let them in and wished them a good night before they rode the elevator up. They made it to the sixth floor and went to their apartment then went in.

They locked up and took off their shoes and put up their coats.

"Want a bottle of water?" Marcy asked.

"Thank you." Ellen walked behind her.

Marcy went to the kitchen to get her water-bottle. She drank the water inside and poured juice in before getting bottled water for Ellen. Marcy could drink warm drinks but not water. Water had to be ice cold.

Ellen took the bottle and followed Marcy upstairs. They checked on the twins before going to their room. The moon shone through their windows, onto the bed, where Mal and the dogs were asleep.

The girls went to wash their faces and brush their teeth. Marcy took her medicine before going through her nightly routine of face washing and teeth brushing. Her and her siblings had their own variations but they all took longer than normal people. Marcy took the longest.

For the first time, Ellen was awake to see it. It filled her with awe; the dedication, the thoroughness. It was a lot.

When Marcy finished, she and Ellen took "bird baths" then left the bathroom to go to the closet. They switched to PJs and took off jewelry. Marcy braided her hair.

They left the closet and went to the bed. Ellen got inside and slid to the middle but Marcy went to a bookcase and got a book. She grabbed a pen from her bedside table and sat on her correspondence corner to write since it was dark and she needed the lamp on it.

"What are you doing?" Ellen whispered.

"Writing." Marcy told her.

Ellen blinked. Wait. Was this what she did every night? Was this the big secret of why she never went to bed when they did? Besides the whole needing them to be asleep first thing?

As she was thinking, Marcy was writing. Her mind was abuzz with happy thoughts so she wrote quickly. Before she knew it, 30 minutes had passed and she'd written pages. She ended on a good note (meeting Will) then put her diary away.

She came to the bed and saw Ellen was still awake. "You okay?"

Ellen jumped, not having seen her move. "Uh! Yes!"

"Shhh!" Marcy pointed to Mal, who stirred. Marcy rocked him a bit and he stopped moving.

"Sorry." Ellen grimaced.

"Get some sleep." Marcy turned on music and took off her glasses she'd put on to write.

Ellen had never seen them either and thought she was especially cute in them but now was probably not the time to disclose that fact. "Goodnight."

Marcy scooted down in the bed and turned on her left side, facing Ellen and Mal. "Night."

Ellen scooted down and yawned.

Marcy brushed her hand down the redhead's face. She giggled when Ellen made a face.

Ellen liked hearing her giggle so she decided it was okay. "Go to sleep."

Marcy raised an eyebrow.

"I can't go if you're messing with my face."

Marcy kissed her.

"Especially if you're doing that."

Marcy kissed her again before closing the November baby's eyes and her own.

Ellen cuddled up to her and smiled with her eyes still shut. Her life was great.

It took about four minutes but Ellen was out. That meant Marcy could go to sleep. And she blinked heavily because she was sleepy and it was near two o'clock in the morning.

She adjusted herself in bed and thought over her day. Before she knew it, she was asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

**_Eh…_**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

Mal opened the door to the apartment and hustled in his surprise. He walked away a bit to make sure things were fine and upon seeing they were, left to find someone.

He searched downstairs and found Marcy and Ellen in the kitchen with Santana, who didn't work weekends, and Brittany, who had this Saturday off. The twins were in their highchairs, eating.

"Daddy!" They called out.

"Hey, guys!" He kissed them.

They began jabbering in their childish language in excitement.

"Hey, I got some good news." He told the adults.

"What is it?" Brittany clapped.

"Guess."

"You got a job." Marcy leaned on the counter.

"I hate playing this game with you. But yes, I got a job."

Ellen began jumping up and down before hugging him. "I'm so happy for you! What are you going to be doing?"

"I uh- found this gallery. It's owned by Antoll Anelli."

"Antoll Anelli?!"

"Yup! He said I just caught him cuz he just got back from Milan. I showed him my stuff and he said he wanted to mold me."

Ellen hugged him as Marcy lifted a brow. "Oh really?"

"Yeah, isn't it great?"

"It's something." Marcy twisted her lips.

"Come on! He wants to mold me! Me!"

"So he has a God complex…"

"Stop that! He's a big name. He sees something in me. I can't wait to work for him. He's eccentric and weird and brilliant!"

"Douchebags usually are."

"Aren't you happy for me?" He sulked.

"I am. I just don't want you to change to fit someone else's idea of what's right. You are good and you have talent. Don't let anyone take that away from you."

He smiled. "Well thank you. And speaking of what someone has, this is for you."

Ellen gasped as he brought flowers from his back and held them out to her. "Oh thank you!"

"You're welcome. And your gift is right this way."

Marcy eyed him suspiciously. "You're the one working with a big name but you're giving us gifts?"

"Yes. Besides, I owed you. I don't make promises I don't keep."

"Uh huh." Her lips twitched.

"Come see."

She let the twins down before walking out of the kitchen. "Where is it?"

"Keep going." Mal advised as everyone followed.

She marched forward to the front door. She screamed when she saw them. She turned to Mal and hugged him. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

He laughed. "You're welcome."

She squeezed him and kissed his face before leaping off of him to sprint to the black baby goat and white lamb. "Hi, babies!"

Suddenly other animals were in the hallway. Sully circled fast while Secret circled slowly. Both looked for a place to bite.

Marcy pushed both away. "Stop that! I'm going to have to find a place for you two!"

"Mommy!" Mickey petted the lamb.

"I know. Isn't it soft?"

"They're both girls so you don't have to worry about aggression." Mal said.

"I'll call you Shea." Marcy told the lamb before touching the kid. "And you'll be Shu."

"What's that?" Ellen asked.

"Chinese for book."

"But why?" Santana was so confused.

"Book is a good word." Brittany nodded.

Both Secret and Sully were put out that their mistress was so taken with food. Ecru, on the other hand, was happy to have someone his size in the apartment. Cupcake was already bigger than him and so was Lord Tubbington.

"I gotta take pictures and show P and Rou." Marcy patted her pockets for her phone.

"This is cute. Really cute." Santana mocked.

"Go eat, cranky pants."

Santana stuck her tongue out and grabbed a giggling Brittany's arm to lead her back to the kitchen.

Marcy immediately jumped on Mal and kissed him. "I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you." Mal smirked.

The twins hugged his legs. "Thank you!"

"It's also because you left the house this morning to walk your dogs. It's progress."

"I'm not sad anymore." Marcy shook her head.

"You're not?"

"No."

"Good. Does this mean you're going to talk to Mercy now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because nothing's changed except I'm not a bucket of sadness anymore. The reason still stands. Until I let it go, it won't do any good to see her."

"So you're not going to her and Lucy's thing tonight?"

"Of course I am. I wouldn't do her like that. Besides, it's Lucy's birthday, too."

"You are definitely unique."

Marcy said something quite rude in Swedish.

"Will you?"

She nodded. "Uh huh."

He kissed her and set her on her feet. "Don't forget."

"I'm standing here, willing."

"You guys are so dirty." Ellen shook her head.

Marcy pinched her cheek. "You could be our soap."

Ellen burned as Mal laughed.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"I'm so nervous!" Mercedes moved restlessly.

"For tonight?" Quinn asked as she turned in the mirror of their dressing room.

Mercedes hurried to pull down her dress. "Yes! Except for when we went over to cheer her up after her episode, this will be the first time Marcy and I have been in the same space since family therapy."

"I know, honey and I'm happy for you but I don't want you to get your hopes up. She told me specifically that she didn't hate you and-"

"See?! That has to mean something!"

"It means she still loves you but she doesn't forgive you for the sin of being Momma Rose's daughter. She's still angry though. I don't want you to get your hopes up and then be let down when she has space between you."

"But it's my birthday!" Mercedes whined.

Quinn gave her a look.

"It's _our_ birthday!"

"Mercy, please don't get your hopes up. Please? For me?"

Mercedes was defeated. "But Lucy-!"

"Please?" Quinn put her forehead against Mercedes's. "I don't like you hurt. You're my other third."

"Okay." Mercedes pouted. "I won't get excited."

"Good." Quinn pulled back. "Now let's find clothes for tonight. We have to get back home for when the girls arrive."

Mercedes squealed happily. "I can't wait! I miss them!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Shut up!" Marcy pushed Karou slightly.

"I'm dead serious!" Karou swore.

"Not even!"

"Even!"

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

Marcy screamed.

Karou screamed.

Mal ran in. "What's going on?!"

Both screamed at him.

"What?!"

Marcy jumped off the bed and ran out. Karou followed, both still screaming.

Mal wondered just what in the world was wrong with them before following. "Guys?! What's wrong?! Guys?!"

The girls ran down the stairs and to the front door.

Mal caught up to them and picked up Marcy, who flailed around still screaming. "Marcy, stop it!"

She slapped at his back.

He set her on her feet and shook her by her shoulders. "Stop screaming!"

She jumped up and down, still screaming.

He kissed her. When he drew away, she pouted… but was quiet. "Tell me what's going on."

"I can't." Her eyes widened in hurt.

"Why not?"

"Cuz we have to tell Mercy and Lucy first."

"You're going to talk to Mercy?"

"About this!"

"What is it?"

"I have to go!"

"Marcy!"

"I'll come back and tell you! I promise!" She kissed him quickly before shoving his hands off of her and running to slip on shoes. Karou put on her shoes and both ran across the hallway to Quinn's and Mercedes's apartment.

Mal leaned against the doorway. "What about your keys?"

Marcy came back and took keys off the hook. She dangled them in his face before going back and unlocking the door.

"Damn…" He crossed his arms but then was almost bowled over by the animals trying to leave the condo. "Hey! Hey! Get back in there!"

Marcy giggled before going inside the other apartment. "Good luck! Come on, Rou!"

Karou giggled before closing the door on Mal's disgruntled face.

Marcy went straight to the kitchen to find Mercedes but she wasn't there. So she went to the den and finally ended up in Mercedes's room.

Mercedes was there, in the closet putting away extra clothes from her shopping trip with Quinn. "Marcy?"

"Where's Lucy?!" Marcy sat Karou in a "high heeled shoe" chair.

"Is something wrong? Are you okay?"

"We need Lucy!" Marcy texted Quinn in all caps to come down.

"You're scaring me!" Mercedes didn't like this at all.

Quinn burst in seconds later. "What's going on?!"

Marcy brought her over in a bundle of nerves. "You're never going to believe this!"

"What?!" Quinn breathed quickly, panicked.

Marcy looked at Karou before they both said in unison, "India's pregnant!"

"What?!" Mercedes's and Quinn's eyes widened before they started screaming.

Marcy and Karou screamed back.

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"You lie!"

"Truth!"

The birthday girls screamed louder.

Puck burst into the room. "What's going on?!"

Mercedes, Quinn, Marcy and Karou screamed at him.

He flinched. "Ah! What's going on?!"

Mercedes and Quinn started jumping up and down. Still screaming.

"What are you screaming for?!"

"Get out! Tell us everything!" That last part was to Marcy and Karou.

"Why I gotta get out?!" Puck was slightly hurt.

Quinn pushed him out and shut the closet door in his face before locking it.

"Lucy!" Mercedes was torn.

Quinn went to Marcy and shook her. "Tell us everything!"

"Yes!" Mercedes got back on track. "Tell us everything!"

"You gotta ask Rou." Marcy ran her hands through her hair. "She just told me that Paris told her and nobody else knows so you can't tell anybody!"

Both screamed again before attacking Karou. "Tell us!"

Karou vibrated and threw her hair back from her face. "Okay! I just talked to Paris, who was going on and on about not having a good outfit for tonight and how she wanted to go shopping when she gets here because she would absolutely not go out if-"

"Rou!"

"Right! Right! Anyway she says that we have to watch India and make sure she doesn't go past a glass of wine with dinner and I asked why and she said because INDIA IS PREGNANT!"

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"Who's the father?!" Mercedes asked immediately.

"What does Aunt Asia and Uncle Morris think?!" Quinn asked right after.

"What is she going to do about school?!" Marcy tacked on.

"I don't know! I don't know! I don't know!" Karou lifted her shoulders. "I just know that apparently she's moving _here_!"

"Here?! Like America or New York?!"

"New York! She's looking for apartments this week so she's going to stay even past tomorrow! Paris wouldn't tell me anything else."

"We gotta call London!" Mercedes and Quinn shouted.

"We gotta go. I promised to tell Mal what was going on." Marcy was semi-calmed now.

"I thought Paris didn't want anyone to know?" Quinn lifted a brow.

"Nobody cares what she wants! Besides, I'm sure Indy told her not to tell anyone and she told Karou so she brought this on herself. On top of that, it's Mal!"

"Alright. But you know she's going to milk it for all it's worth if she finds out you told him."

"I can always punch her in the throat."

"Marcy!" Mercedes gasped.

Marcy looked at her a bit sadly, realizing in that moment that she broke her own rule. "We just wanted you guys to know. We should go."

Mercedes waved sadly. "You're still coming tonight though! Right?!"

Marcy nodded as she dragged Karou out.

Puck barged in. "What the hell is going on?!"

"Noah, not now." Mercedes sighed deeply.

"Are you okay at least?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. I gotta call our cousin."

"Are you sure?" He cupped her cheek.

She kissed him lightly. "I'm fine. Are Rae and Beth okay? Did you leave them on their own?"

He grimaced and ran out.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "The father of our children."

"Lucy." Mercedes side-eyed her.

Quinn lifted her hands. "Are we calling Lond on your phone or mine?"

Mercedes swiped up her phone. "Mine."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes answered the door and screamed loudly. "Lond!"

"Mercy!" London hugged her tightly.

Mercedes pulled her in. "Where's everyone else?"

"Paris is across the hall with Cora and Pat and George are downstairs flirting with your doorman."

"They need to quit!" Mercedes set her hands on her hips.

"They won't."

"Where's Laura and the others?"

"I don't know about Laura but China is really close and India went to the bathroom downstairs to throw up."

"She's really pregnant!" Mercedes clapped her hands over her mouth and whispered. "Ah! I can't believe it!"

"Eck! Me either! I always thought it'd be China or Paris first."

Mercedes swatted her. "Stop that and come on here!"

London grinned and shut the door behind herself. "You know you can't tell her I told you."

"You're not going to blame it on Paris? I'm surprised at you."

London giggled. "I can be a good big sister when I want to."

"Uh huh. When you want to."

London grinned. "Show me around your place, Cuz! It looks so beautiful!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Where's your boyfriend, honey?" George demanded.

"Hi, George." Mercedes raised a brow.

"Hello, darling." George kissed her cheeks.

"You can't have my boyfriend. He's too young for you and you're married."

"Are you calling me old, dear?"

"Is that all you heard?!" Quinn laughed.

"I'm still in my twenties!"

"Where's your strapping young man, Lucille?" Pat asked.

"Stop it, Pat!" Quinn wasn't amused. "How's Eugene?"

Pat swayed gently. "He's doing better."

"Shouldn't you be?" London snickered.

Pat side-eyed her.

"We're all here." Mercedes waved her hands restlessly. "Let's get dressed."

"What about your girlfriends?" George wanted to know.

"They'll be home soon. Come on."

The girls split up to go to different bathrooms to shower and dress. By the time they were done, it was getting dark and Rachel and Anna made it home.

"It's nice to meet you again." London shook Anna's hand.

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you again, too." The blonde smiled.

"Go get dressed." Mercedes patted Anna's back. "We'll wait for you."

"I laid out your clothes." Quinn told Rachel.

Rachel was not surprised. "Thank you."

Quinn brightened. It seemed as if she'd finally broken her. She'd only use her powers for good though. "Who wants a glass of wine?"

Her cousins each raised a hand. "Me!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes hugged India tightly. "Hi, Cuz!"

"Hi, MercyMe!" India hugged her back, just as tightly.

"I missed you!"

"Oh, I missed you, too! How's Rae doing?"

"She's good! She's trying to feed herself when I give her cereal but she's horrible at holding a spoon."

India laughed.

"But she's real good at holding her bottle. You'd think it was a cigar."

"That's so cute!"

"Aw! I miss her already! I knew we should have gone out _after_ we put the kids to bed!"

"Nope!" Quinn pushed Mercedes towards the front of the building. "Mal and Puck can handle it. We are going out and we are having fun!"

"Not all of us can drink!" Mercedes hissed, making eyes at India.

"And this is why we keep secrets from you." Marcy muttered.

Mercedes pouted but Laura stuck up for her. "Leave her alone, Marcy!"

"Who does she get it from, Ms. Can't-Hold-Water?"

Laura gasped, outraged as Quinn laughed. "She called it!"

Laura turned blue fire on her. "Shut up!"

Quinn stuck her tongue out. "Blabbermouth!"

"You tell everything, too!"

"No, she doesn't." Marcy stuck up for her fellow green eyed sister. "That's you two and that little one we left in Lima."

Laura screeched.

Mercedes hugged her. "You can't get upset. You're pregnant."

"What?!" Pat, George, Coraline, India, London and Paris were shocked.

"Maybe I am a blabbermouth?"

Laura huffed. "It wasn't a secret since I've told Marc. Besides I'm hardly the only one."

"I'm not pregnant!" Pat declared.

"Me either!" George sassed.

Coraline looked away.

"Cora, are you pregnant?!" They eyed her suspiciously.

"No!"

"Are you and Denisivitch having a baby?!" They cornered the blonde.

"No!" Coraline shrank back.

"You can tell us!"

"Alright already!" India yelled. "It's _me_! _I'm_ pregnant!"

It was so quiet, the entire lobby could hear a pin drop in Texas.

George and Pat ran over, screaming. They fired off questions at lightening speed, overwhelming poor India until Paris whistled.

"Shut the hell up!" Marcy snapped. "Nobody wants to hear that shit!"

"You are a spoilsport, Marcy!" Pat snapped.

"I'm about to punch you in the face. Leave her alone. The whole point of tonight is Mercy's and Lucy's birthdays and you're making India's pregnancy about you."

"You're right." George sighed. "We will behave from now on."

"No, you won't. You'll just wait until my back is turned. Well not tonight, chickenhead!" Marcy wrapped India's arm around hers and pulled her out. "Lead the way, Little Mama!"

"Ugh!" Pat sneered. "I don't like your sister."

Quinn grinned. "Too bad. We love her."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Wheezy, I'm full!" Santana leaned on Mercedes.

"Too full to dance?" Mercedes teased.

"No way!" Brittany hopped up.

"Don't run off yet, Britt." Marcy mocked. "We don't even know where we're going to dance."

Brittany pulled at Quinn. "Come on! Tell us! Tell us!"

"Britt!" Quinn laughed.

"I can't wait to dance! Work has been so hard!"

"You work at a pet store." Rachel didn't get it.

"All you're doing is singing on stage!"

"Britt?!" Quinn shook her arm.

Brittany sniffed.

Santana laughed. "Is this what you meant, Patti?"

"Yep." Marcy kept her mirth to herself.

"I think she just meant that the pet store is such a happy place that it must be easy work." Mercedes soothed.

Brittany narrowed her eyes before smiling brightly. "Of course, Sadie! You would never say something mean. I believe you."

Mercedes grinned hapshazardly. "Thank you."

"It's all I meant." It wasn't but Rachel was no fool.

"This is less fun." Marcy muttered.

"Marce!" Quinn snapped.

"I meant this overall experience. I want to dance." She stood up and pulled down the small legs of her shorts. "Where are we headed?"

"Well…" Quinn didn't quite believe her but couldn't prove it. "There's this gay dance club on 5th and Oak. We thought we'd go there before the movies."

"Where I'll definitely be going to sleep…" Marcy pushed her chair in. "Let's do this."

The girls (and Kurt) raised a cheer and popped up to push in their chairs. They fled the restaurant and spilled out onto sidewalk.

They found their way and made it to the pulsating hole in the wall club. The inside was dark with neon flashing lights and the music was extremely loud. The place was playing Madonna from the 80s, with multiple people singing along.

The girls mixed in with the crowd and began dancing. Strobe lights shot across the room and people screamed out lyrics however on key they may or may not have been.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"I'm bored." Puck murmured.

Finn looked at him. "What?"

"I said I'm bored."

"What do you think the girls are doing?"

"Mama wouldn't tell me exactly what was happening." Puck frowned as he thought about it. "She just said they were going to eat then see where the night took them."

"Quinn told me they were going to eat then shopping."

"It's night." Puck looked at him like he was stupid.

Finn frowned. "Wait- she lied to me?!"

Puck smirked. "She lied to you."

Finn sulked. "Man! Why does she keep lying to me?!"

"Because you keep falling for it?"

Finn glared at him.

Puck grinned. "My bad. She'll stop lying to you."

"Now you're lying to me."

"I'm trying to make you feel better."

"Thank you."

"Don't get weird."

Finn grinned. "My brother's gay and so are all of our girlfriends. I can't believe you still say stuff like that."

"It's not a gay thing. It's a loser thing."

"Whatever." Finn held a smug smile as he turned back to the TV.

"Whatever!" Puck pointed at him.

"That's what I said." Finn hunched his shoulders.

Puck popped up. "I'm going to check on my kids!"

"Why are you leaving me?" Finn teased.

"Shut up!" Puck stomped out.

Finn's laughter followed him upstairs.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"My feet hurt!" Tina leaned nearly completely on Kurt.

"Why'd I wear heels?!" George sighed loudly.

"Because-"

Mercedes gave Marcy and Karou a look.

"You like to look good."

George smiled smugly. "Thank you, Cuzes."

"Fuck that. You a hoe." Marcy changed her mind.

Paris nearly buckled with laughter, London and Quinn right behind her. Coraline tried not to laugh but her lips twitched madly.

Karou clapped happily. "A hoe with sprinkles on top!"

"Marcy?!" Laura and Mercedes were mortified. India couldn't believe it. "Karou?!"

Pat was on the fence. George was her best friend but that was funny.

George screamed loudly. She was extremely upset.

"Marcy, how could you say that about your cousin?!" Ellen pulled on her girlfriend's hand.

"I opened my mouth and said it…" Marcy blinked. "That's how talking works."

"Marcy, she means how could you be so mean!" Laura snapped.

Marcy looked at Ellen in betrayal. "I'm not mean!"

"You are mean, you violent little girl!" Laura shook a finger at her.

Marcy wrinkled her nose at her.

"You tell George you're sorry!"

Marcy made a rude sound low in her throat.

"You stop that this very minute and apologize!"

"Man, you suck." Marcy scuffed her shoe.

"Marcy!"

Marcy huffed before rolling her eyes and facing George. "I apologize."

"You could mean it." George muttered.

"I meant you a hoe but apparently that's too much."

"Marcy!" Laura screamed.

"Fine! You're not a hoe; you just have hoeish ways!"

"How is that better?!"

"Who else has hoeish ways?" Paris giggled.

"Paris!" China chided.

"Pat." Marcy answered her anyway.

Karou wiped away tears as Paris tried to hold her up. "Who else?!"

"You."

Karou glared. "What about you?!"

"Oh, I'm a total whore."

"Marcy, you stop that right this second!" Laura lectured. "You're not a whore!"

"What would you know about hoeing, Ms. Perfect?"

"I am not perfect!"

"Could have fooled us." Quinn scoffed.

"Shut up and come on here!" Laura was tired of all of them. "We're late to the midnight movie."

The group began walking from the club to the movie theater.

"Man, it sucks that she made them stop." Santana whispered to her girlfriend.

Brittany's lips twitched as she swatted Santana's hand. "Stop it, San."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"I'm so tired." Tina yawned.

"But wasn't that movie romantic?" Anna sighed.

"So much so!" Ellen gushed.

"Yeah." Tina agreed. "The lead reminded me of Mike."

"It did not remind me of Noah." Anna shook her head with wide eyes.

Ellen giggled. "Mal is very romantic. I thought Puck could be?"

Anna lifted a shoulder. "He has moments of thoughtfulness and insightfulness that are romantic but he's not a practitioner of romance."

"Sounds like Marcy. She refuses to do anything romantic. Like just now? she had her eyes closed during the whole movie."

Tina giggled. "She said she would be asleep for it."

Ellen blew out a breath. "It's not fair. Mercy is romantic. Quinn is romantic. I'm sure Laura is romantic. Why won't Marcy take after her sisters?"

"Marcy takes after them in other ways." Tina knew. "The sharp words that cut you deep is pure Quinn."

Ellen gasped. "No!"

"Quinn used to rule our school with an iron fist." Anna enlightened her.

"She was so scary." Tina added. "I thought she was perfect yet a monster."

Ellen was blown away. She only knew Quinn as a nice girl. "Who else?"

"Rachel was a mess…"

Anna giggled. "She was a part of so many clubs and still no one liked her."

"Why?" Ellen wanted to know.

"Her personality is much better now." Tina told her. "Tana and Britt weren't the nicest either. I mean Britt was always nice but she was underhanded because she listened to other people but that's still mean. Tana was Satan. That's why Puck calls her Satan. Everyone did."

Ellen was blown away. "Who else?"

"Mercy was sassy. I mean moreso. Everyone thought she was angry but she wasn't. She just could say some really hard things."

"What about you?"

"I was really shy."

" _Was_?"

Tina gave her a brittle look. "Yes! I faked a stutter just so I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I thought I was a better actress than Meryl Streep because I fooled everyone. Nobody knew."

"Why'd you stop?" Ellen asked at the same time Anna exclaimed, "You _faked_ that stutter?! I thought Mike just helped you get over it?!"

Tina lifted her shoulders.

"Why'd you stop?" Ellen repeated.

"I wanted to be honest with Artie. Turns out, he didn't think it was Oscar worthy."

"I'm sorry."

Tina shrugged. "Artie's one of my best friends. It didn't work out between us but we're as close as close can be. I wouldn't change our past. Even the ugly parts. It brought us to who we are now."

"That's really mature."

"It took a long time to get there. I was bitter over that for a while. I think that's why I cheated on him with Mike. I suddenly noticed this good-looking guy was interested in me and I did nothing to stop him from pursuing me because I was mad at Artie. It wasn't fair to either of them."

"You cheated on Artie with Mike?"

Tina grinned sheepishly. "Mercy gave him tips on how to get my attention. Her and Quinn."

Ellen's mouth was wide open and she looked ahead of them to where the other girls (and Kurt) were walking towards the subway.

"My MercyCat helped sweet Mike cheat?!" Anna was shocked, too.

"Yup." Tina nodded. "You don't sound surprised by Quinn."

Anna said nothing at first. "I can't believe this. She's always talking about morals."

"Mercy's very moral but she was only trying to help her brother out. Even Artie doesn't blame her. He didn't even blame Mike, which I thought was unfair because he blamed me."

Ellen giggled accidentally. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I don't mean to laugh!"

Tina smiled. "It's okay. I haven't done many bad things in my life so I have this big shiny example of one."

"I haven't done many bad things either." Anna frowned.

Ellen shrugged. "My brothers tease me about being so good. Even Elliot. It's not fair. Just because they're always breaking the rules, I get called a goody-goody."

"Well your girlfriend will never be called one of those." Tina teased.

Ellen laughed. "She's not bad. She just says mean things. I have to help her look for the best of people."

Anna scoffed. "I've known her since freshman year and she was always above everyone else. She hates people."

"I've only know her for three years but I know for a fact that she's bad." Tina shook her head.

"No." Ellen refused to hear it.

"No what?" All three screamed when they heard Marcy's voice. " _Cute_ …"

"What- what- what are you doing?" Tina patted her chest to restart her heart.

"What are you three talking about?"

They each looked down.

Marcy raised an amused brow. "Whatever. We're going to an all night supermarket. We're waiting on you all."

"Sure." Anna and Tina shot forward and ran to catch up to the waiting group.

Ellen moved to do so, also but Marcy caught her arm. Ellen looked at her in guilt. Marcy just threaded their fingers and walked behind the others. Ellen couldn't take it. "They think you're bad!"

"At what?" Marcy asked easily enough.

"No. They think you're bad. Behavior-ly."

"One, behavior-ly isn't a word. Two, so what?"

"Marcy, you're not bad." Ellen turned to face her.

Marcy smirked but said nothing.

"Is this- is this about the killing something thing from last month?"

Marcy lost her smirk for a moment before, "No."

"Then I don't think you're bad."

Marcy tapped Ellen's nose. "Thank you."

Ellen blushed and glowed from the inside. "You're welcome."

"I'm going to buy you cotton candy."

Ellen beamed. She loved cotton candy. "What are you going to get?"

"I'm definitely in the mood for chips. Maybe a cookie, too? And I am completely dehydrated."

Ellen giggled as they got on the train.

"What are you two talking about?" George demanded.

"Food, nosy." Marcy sat down.

"I'm starving!" Santana moaned.

"Me too!" Brittany pouted. "My baby's gonna think I'm trying to make him skinny!"

Mercedes rubbed her belly. "No, AJ! You're going to be a healthy weight!"

The whole car laughed.


	15. Chapter 15

**_I'm on time! I'm on time! (I wish I could upload a music emoji)_**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

Brittany stood in front of the mirror and eyed herself from every angle and came to one conclusion; she was getting fat. She began wailing loudly.

The door to the closet opened and Santana came inside. "Whoa! Britt, what's wrong?!"

"I'm fat!" Brittany sobbed.

"You are not." Santana went to her naked girlfriend and hugged her from behind.

"Look at my stomach!" Brittany poked it.

"You're pregnant! It's supposed to get bigger!"

"How much bigger?" The blonde pouted.

"We might get as big as Q."

Brittany leaned forward but Santana kept her back. "Will AJ appreciate this?"

"Probably not."

Brittany smiled. "Thank you, San."

"You're welcome, Britts. Love you."

"Love you, too."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Anna wrote down exactly what her boss told her before moving on to the next item on her to do list. It was a lot of work but she honestly loved this job. She was going to have to do something special for Marcy to thank her for getting her this opportunity.

"Anna?" Her boss called out.

"Yes?!" Anna stood up from her desk.

"Remind me to call Mr. Green for the Hembsburg piece. We need to authenticate it before the showing next week."

"Yes, ma'am!" Anna wrote it down. Yeah, it was a lot of work but it was the best job in the world.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Blaine held the bag steady. "Jab, jab, uppercut. Jab, jab, uppercut. Come on! Three more sets! Jab, jab, uppercut. Jab, jab, uppercut. Jab, jab, uppercut. And now you can rest, Katie!"

The little girl wiped sweat from her brow with her arm and went to get a drink of water.

"Next!" Blaine called out.

A little Hispanic boy stepped up. He hit his fists together before doing the exercise Blaine had the group of kids working on.

"That's right!" Blaine nodded. "Jab, jab, uppercut. Jab, jab, uppercut."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Quinn squealed excitedly as she lifted out her gift from the box. She and Mercedes usually opened half their gifts the day of their birthdays and half on the day they shared in between but it was officially her 19th birthday and she could finally open the rest of her presents.

"Who got you that?" Mike asked.

Quinn looked at the tag. "Joey!"

He chuckled. "I'll write it down."

"Open this one, Lucy!" Mercedes liked the way this present was wrapped.

"Who's it from?"

"Greg."

"Ooh!" Quinn took the gift from her twin and opened it. "It's a necklace!"

Indeed it was. A large peridot in a silver setting on a silver chain.

She put it around her neck. "Look, Beth. Isn't it pretty?"

Beth reached out to touch it. "Pretty."

Raven made moves as if she were going to roll forward so Mercedes put her on her belly. "Crawl, Rae! Do it again for Mama!"

Raven did an odd swimming motion but didn't otherwise move.

Mercedes pouted. "Come on, Rae. You can do it."

Raven sucked on her pacifier and looked up at her mother.

Mike dragged her over to him and set her in his lap. He kissed her cheek. Her binky fell out and she reached up for him. He set her on her feet in the circle of his legs and held onto her hands. He kissed her again.

She shot forward and put her mouth on his chest, drooling a bit.

Unfortunately he wore a button up shirt with the first few buttons open and nothing beneath because of the hot weather. **Meaning all of her slob hit him flesh to flesh**.

She shrieked and opened her mouth wider, more drool leaking out and then she bit him.

"Ow!" He pulled her back. "Rae!"

She giggled.

Mercedes smiled as Quinn fell out laughing. "I'm sorry, Mikey. She's got a new tooth."

Raven bit him again and giggled.

"Ow! Take your vampire baby back!" Mike held Raven out.

Raven started to cry.

"Mikey!" Mercedes gave him puppy dog eyes.

Mike held Raven close and she snuggled up to him. He sighed. "As long as she doesn't bite me anymore-"

Raven proceeded to bite him.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Marcy hung up and went back to the study. She closed down her work (she was nearly done anyway so leaving the rest for the next day wasn't going to be trying) and put away her things.

Just as she was finishing, the doorbell rang. She exited the large room and went towards the door. She peeked through the peephole but honestly couldn't see too much.

She opened the door. "Hello."

"Hello." The woman standing there looked as inviting as a witch in a _Disney_ movie. But her beautiful golden retriever was sweet.

"How may I help you?" Security had only told her that the woman knew her from the dog park but Marcy had never clapped eyes on this woman before in her life.

"You are Marceline Anne, are you not?"

"It depends on who's asking."

"You are the mother of that giant wolf that scares all the other dogs at the park."

"Uh oh…" What had Sully done now?

""Uh oh" is right! He is a mangy flea bitten excuse for a mongrel and should have been neutered a long time ago-!"

"Hey, lady! I don't know your damage but you're not about to come to my house and wild out on my dog-!"

"My "damage" is that your hellhound impregnated my Duchess!"

"That's her name?" Marcy lifted a brow.

"That is not the point!"

"I don't believe you."

"Of _course_ that's not the point-!"

"Not _that_!" Marcy made a face. "I don't believe Sully is the father of any pups. With a mom like you, I'm sure Princess is rebelling with all sorts of tramps."

The woman ground her teeth. "Her name is Duchess-!"

"I don't care if her name is Queen Elizabeth I; you are not going to accuse my dog of something I don't think he did! How do I know Sully even knows your dog?!"

Just then Sully (and Secret and Ecru) trotted in. Sully and Duchess lit up when they saw each other and began dancing around each other in happiness.

"Damn, dude! Really?!" Marcy threw her hands up.

The woman gave her a smug smile. "I expect reimbursement."

"For what?!"

"Taking care of this. I'm sure there's a stream nearby-"

"Are you high or just stupid?"

The woman glared. "I'm neither!"

"I think you're both. You're not drowning these puppies just because you're a right bitch. It's immoral and illegal and just not happening."

"I'm not caring for these bastards!"

" _I_ will find them homes! Someone has to be the mature one and the grandma aged lady doesn't seem to know what responsibility is."

"Grandma?!"

"How far along is she even?"

"Grandma?!"

"How far?!"

"She's two weeks away from giving birth."

"Bring her back in a week and I'll take care of her for a while."

"She needs to prepare for a show in six weeks. She better be ready." The woman stuck her nose in the air as she turned to leave.

Marcy lifted her leg in the air as if kicking her but she was too far away. "That poor dog." She shut the door and looked down at Sully. "You're gettin fixed, bruh."

As if he knew what those words meant, he laid down and whimpered.


	16. Chapter 16

**_Excuses, excuses, I'm late._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

"How's things been with you?" Mercedes sipped her tea.

Santana groaned loudly. "I don't know how Patti did it! Reading to those little monsters is work!"

"How?" Quinn snorted.

"They're loud for one! And they're always moving. And they're bad. I swear these kids better not come out like them or I'm giving them away!"

"San!" Brittany frowned.

"You don't see these monsters, Britt. They are bad, bad kids."

"Maybe it's you?" Tina shrugged. "Marcy's kids were well behaved when she was reading at the library."

Santana scowled.

Quinn laughed. "I know it's her! Marcy has a way with kids. Tana doesn't."

Santana stuck out her tongue.

"What about you, Rachel?" Mercedes rolled her eyes as she took another sip. "How's rehearsals?"

Rachel smiled. "It's hard but it's going great. We have all of the cast now and we're getting along and finding our rhythm together. I can't believe I'm a part of something like this."

"We're all proud of you."

"That's right!" Quinn huddled close to Rachel and hugged her. Rachel smiled. "You're going to get super famous and make everyone at McKinley kick themselves for not seeing how amazing you are."

"Thank you." Rachel hugged her back.

Brittany squealed and hugged Santana, who smirked at her girlfriend's loving nature.

Mercedes and Anna hugged with large smiles.

Kurt hugged Ellen and Tina since their spouses were missing. "I just love you guys so much!"

The girls giggled.

Mercedes leaned away from Anna a bit. "Hey, guys! Guess what!"

"What?" The group asked.

"India found a place! Our cousin is going to be moving here as soon as she wraps up everything in Germany."

A cheer went up. "Whoo!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mal opened the door to the vet's office and pulled on Sully's leash. The dog didn't move. "Come on, you demented monster!"

Sully laid down.

Mal made an exasperated sound before bending down to pick the dog up. It was back breaking work since Sully was nearly Mal's own weight but the human got the canine inside.

He set him on the floor in front of the receptionist's desk and panted, tired.

The receptionist raised a brow. "May I help you?"

"Yes!" Mal stretched his back. "Appointment for Sully Chang."

She clicked on her keyboard and both her brows raised. "Ah! Here we go! He's getting _fixed_."

"Yeah." Mal appreciated her whispering because Sully seemed to know exactly what was going on.

"Please fill this out and bring it back when you're done." She handed him a clipboard with paper on it and a pen under the clip. "The doctor will see you soon."

Mal took the clipboard and nearly fell when he walked off but Sully didn't move. "Come on here, Gargemel!"

Sully got up and went to the chairs set up in the waiting area and climbed on one.

Mal sat next to him and began filling out the paperwork. He knew most of the answers but whatever he didn't, he texted Marcy at her photoshoot to ask.

When he was done, he left Sully alone to take the clipboard back but that proved to be an error in judgement as Sully spotted a woman with a parrot. Mal ran over to pull the dog away from the bird and screaming woman. "Hey! Stop that!"

Sully climbed on the woman but the bird flew away, circling overhead to stay away from the murderous mutt.

"Would you stop?!" Mal pulled on his collar.

"Sprinkles!" The woman screamed in terror.

Sully jumped, trying to catch Sprinkles. Mal tried to get him to stop but Sully had the energy and the iron will.

All while the chaos of this was going on, a man with a Komodo dragon stared at the pandemonium as the receptionist and the bird owner screamed, Mal shouted, Sully barked and Sprinkles squawked.

Suddenly there was a piercing whistle. Everyone stopped and looked at the vet. He looked over the mess that was his waiting room. "What's going on here?!"

Mal gulped. "I'm your eleven."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Tina hummed to herself as she folded a tee shirt. It wasn't the way the store taught her but the way her seamstress mother taught her. There was less wear and tear and wrinkles this way.

She was the only one out front as her boss and a coworker were in the back bringing out more inventory. But she didn't mind. She was used to being alone, having grown up an only child of only children.

She started singing the theme from _the Love Boat_ , one of her Grandma's favorite shows. It wasn't one of Tina's but she loved her grandmother and anything that reminded her of the octogenarian.

So she let her voice flow loud and proud, something she never would have attempted in years past. But she was stronger now, more able to be assertive and commanding. Who her parents always saw.

"Wow. You have a beautiful voice."

Tina jumped and whirled around. She pressed her hands to her chest and tried to stop her galloping heart even though it was the middle of the day and anyone could walk in.

"I'm sorry." The woman apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm- it's okay." Tina dragged in air as she calmed herself. She realized that she was a salesgirl and jumped to do her job. "Hi. Welcome to Carmen's. Do you need help finding anything?"

The woman stared at her before blinking. "Ah- yes. I would like a few tops and maybe a skirt."

"Do you know what type of shirts you'd like? We have plenty of different brands."

"I'm looking for something someone your age would wear."

"Oh!" Tina's eyes widened as she thought of the perfect shirt. She went to it and held the hanger up. "What about this? It's cute and a very good brand."

The woman smiled. "Are you a trained singer?"

Tina blushed and fussed with the shirt as she answered. "Um… a little bit. I was in my high school's glee club for four years. We won the Nationals trophy twice."

The woman hummed as she nodded. "Have you done any acting?"

"Just a bit. Our glee club was in a commercial and then we put on a couple plays; _Rocky Horror, West Side Story, Grease_. And we did a television spot for Christmas two years ago."

The woman nodded again. "Here. Read this." She pulled out a sheath of paper from her satchel.

Tina took it with a confused frown. "What is it?"

"It's a script. Just read the highlighted parts on the third page."

Tina didn't understand what was going on but she turned to that page and scanned it before reading it aloud.

The woman smiled. "Can you sing another song?"

"I don't know if I should do this while I'm working." Tina didn't even know what "this" was.

"Please? Just a small snippet."

Tina sang the chorus of her special Valentine's duet with Mike from the year before, Nat King Cole's _L.O.V.E._

The woman brought out a card. "Here. I'm a producer for _Passionate_ _Pleas_ and I think you just aced your audition."

Tina stared at her dumbly. "What-? Aud-? What?"

"We're doing a shakeup this season so we're looking for new cast members. I think we could use you. Call me tomorrow. I think you'll go far."

 _Passionate Pleas_ was one of Tina's and her mother's favorite soap operas. She took the card as the woman went to check out the rest of the shirts that Tina had suggested.

Tina's boss came from the back rooms. "Do you need help, ma'am?"

"This lovely young lady suggested this shirt. I'd like five." The woman selected her five and went to the counter to pay.

Tina's boss rang up the purchase and went to the back again. "You did good, Tina!"

The compliment brought Tina back to reality. She pressed the card to her chest as she watched the producer wave and leave. She was going to be on a soap opera! Her! Tina Cohen-Chang!

Tina pulled her phone out and texted all her friends one mass text message about her good news then called Mike. After, she would call Marcy to thank her for getting her this job in the first place then she was going to call her family so she could scream her news to them.

Mike picked up. "Hello?"

Tina squealed long and low.

"T?"

She knew he was confused but she couldn't make herself say real words for a few minutes. But he let her snort and scoff and sputter until she finally yelled, "I'm going to be on TV!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes and Quinn entered the house and went to the den. Marcy was there, stitching together a quilt. She had her glasses on and every light on with the curtains open. "Hey!"

"Hey." She put in nice, short, even stitches.

"Why are you making a quilt?" Quinn asked.

"Why not?"

Quinn shrugged.

"I'm not trying to bother you." Mercedes started. "I just wanted to explain that I had an early shoot so that's why I wasn't here for the twins' lesson. I'm done now and if you still want me to do it, I'll get started now."

"They're taking a nap." Marcy didn't look up from her task.

"Oh. I can just come back tomorrow."

"They need to get up anyway."

"I'll go get them then." Mercedes walked out.

"Where's everyone else?" Quinn sat on the couch.

"Everyone else is at work except Tana, who's laying down. She needs to get up, too so she can go back to read to the preschoolers." Marcy stuck herself with her needle.

"I can go wake her up." Quinn would enjoy it, too.

And Marcy knew that but didn't care. Her briefly raised brows were her only indication that she'd heard her blonde sister.

Quinn flounced out but Marcy was not alone for long. Karou walked in, huffing. "Ugh!"

"You're in my light." Marcy muttered when she just stood in front of the door.

Karou flopped down on the couch. "You could at least pretend to care what's wrong with me!"

"But I don't."

"Twin!" Karou whined.

"What the hell do you want?" Marcy finally looked up.

"Roy is being so mean!"

Marcy looked down again. She was not about to do this with Karou.

"Hello?! I just said my boyfriend is being mean to me and you're not saying anything!"

"What do you want me to say, Karou?"

"I don't know! Anything!"

"For what? You don't listen when people tell you things."

"Is this about Alicia Saunders?! _Again_?!"

"I'm not doing this with you, Karou."

"So she liked you better! So what?! Not every person is in love with you!"

"Oh please! That's not what this is about and you know it! No! No. I'm not doing this." Marcy refocused on her work.

"You do this every time! You think that just because you have Mal a slave to you that you know everything about love!"

"I don't need to know everything about love!" Marcy glared. "But unlike you, I know enough about people! You purposely dumb yourself down-! No! Get out! I'm not doing this!"

Karou jumped up. "I like Roy and not even you are going to ruin it!"

"You can't ruin something that doesn't work in the first place!"

Karou screamed.

"Wake up, dumbass! He's using you and you're just going along with it because you're so desperate to not be alone!"

"I'd rather have someone to keep me warm at night! Your high horse can't guarantee that, can it?!"

"I'd rather have my self respect than some bastard in my face that I know damn well I can't trust!"

"You don't trust anybody! You're dead inside!"

"It beats being dead on the outside! You're a walking commercial for _the_ _First 48_!"

"I hate you!"

"Like you're some prize!"

Karou stomped out and slammed the door behind herself.

Marcy screamed before throwing herself back against the couch, her stitching far from her mind.

Mercedes nudged Quinn inside before taking the twins to the living room for their lesson.

Quinn walked in with Santana. The blonde sat down. "Are you okay?"

"I don't need her. She wants to be pathetic and stupid, that's her problem." Marcy picked up her needlework and continued stitching, even though she was glaring at the fabric as if it had been the one to make her angry.

"Wow." Santana couldn't help to say. "I can't believe you two fought like that. Over some dude."

"Fuck him."

"Who's Alicia Saunders?"

Quinn made the motion for stop talking but Marcy glared at Santana.

Santana gulped. "Fuck her, too, huh?"

Quinn facepalmed.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Do you want another margarita?"

Karou glared at Mercedes. "No."

"Stop being a pain just because Marcy won't talk to you." Quinn snapped.

"I'm not talking to her first!"

Santana sipped her virgin margarita. "She seems to be cuttin everybody loose. Who else is she not going to talk to?"

"San!" Brittany frowned.

"She'll talk to you soon, Aretha." Santana realized her mistake.

Mercedes took a large swallow of her strawberry margarita. "Right. Soon."

The girls sighed. They had to pick this back up or girls night would be ruined.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Just make up with her." Mike cajoled.

Marcy glared at him before knocking her whiskey back.

"You know how you are." Mal warned. "Your mood before drinking determines your drunk state. I don't want you trying to fight me when we go upstairs."

"Would she really do that?" Sam whispered.

"Yes." Mike rolled his eyes. "Come on, Marce. You don't want to be mad at Rou. She's your favorite cousin."

"No, she's not. Paris is." Marcy poured another drink.

"I've never seen her angry and drinking." Finn was worried.

"She do look like she wanna fight." Puck agreed.

Mal did something he knew he was going to pay for later. He kissed Marcy. Not that it mattered much but it was lip to lip.

She glared at him and looked ready to punch him.

"I'd rather you be mad at me for a little while than drag this out with Rou. Call her."

Mike burst out laughing accidentally. "How much of that was because he kissed you in front of other people?"

"I really hate you." Mal wasn't sure which one he was talking to.

"I didn't say it!"

"You're laughing!" Mike. He definitely meant Mike.

"I can't laugh?"

"Now that's uncalled for."

Marcy cracked a smile.

Mike grinned. "Why are you like this? You're a giant sourpuss unless someone's fighting. Then you became a cute little baby."

"What?"

He knew she was giving him the chance to change his words but he meant what he said. "You're my baby."

She stared at him until she smiled.

"Why can't I get a smile?!" Mal groused.

She leaned on him.

He wrapped his arms around her, even when she tried to get away. "Nope! I'm going to love on you hard!"

The guys laughed.


	17. Chapter 17

Puck swept the skimmer over the water slowly. He had no reason to go fast. His rate was per time not per hour. Which suited him fine. He had no place to be and this relaxed him. Whenever they got another pool boy, he'd miss this.

It was quiet at the pool even though it was right before noon. It wasn't always. Some of the people in the building liked to swim all day long. Which he understood. It gave him more work.

But no one was there. Usually there'd be one or two diehards watching, waiting for him to finish so they could jump in.

But nope. He was entirely alone. Which he was fine with. He didn't start having a large circle of friends until middle school so he was used to just two people (Nic and Finn).

He continued with the skimmer until anything that was in the pool besides water was out. Then he got to work on the Ph balance.

He usually didn't get much science (math and history being his strengths) but he knew about Ph balances in pools. It really got him how just a bit of imbalance could wreck everything.

Once he was done, he gathered his equipment up and went to tell security that he was finished. He headed upstairs after, looking for food.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Ellen smiled at a customer before turning back to a coworker. "I don't know. She won't talk to me."

Emory, the coworker, put a hand on her arm. "It's okay. My boyfriend isn't into talking either."

"To the point where he shuts everyone out?"

Emory frowned. "Not exactly."

Ellen gave her a look. "She just gets so mad. I've never met an angrier person."

"But you love her, don't you?"

"Of course. I just wish she'd confide in me. I didn't even know she was angry with her cousin until our roommate brought it up."

"Maybe she doesn't want to worry you?"

Ellen had never thought of that. "I wouldn't worry."

"Aren't you worried now?"

Ellen frowned. "Stop making all these good points."

Emory laughed. "We got another customer."

Ellen turned with a bright fake smile. The wheels in her head were turning. She had to let Marcy know that she was there for her through whatever and that she could tell her anything. "Welcome to Puff's. How may I help you?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Artie wheeled into the den. "You're still working on that?"

"I'm almost done." Literally, Marcy had three more stitches until her quilt was finished.

"Remember that thing you asked of me?" He waited for her to look at him. "It's ready."

"Thing?"

He smirked at her memory. " _Operation: Douchebag Removal_?"

"Oh yeah!" She brightened before frowning and refocusing on her stitching. "Oh well."

"You're really going to do her like that?"

"Why should I care about her happiness?"

"She's your cousin."

"I-" She stopped. She was going to say she didn't care but that wasn't true.

"Come on, Boo Thang. You worked so hard on this."

Marcy put in her last stitch. "I worked hard on this. Even when I pricked myself or dropped stitches or hated the pattern after the fact. And she's more important than a quilt. Right?"

"Yes." He wheeled closer.

She thought it over before nodding. "Fine. But I'm still not talking to her. She called me heartless."

"That sucks." He nodded in agreement.

"Somebody's going to have to get her."

"Who?"

She shrugged. "'Zilla."

"Is he at home?"

She shrugged again as she cleaned up her mess with one hand and reached for her phone with the other. "'Zilla!"

She put him on speakerphone and his voice came through loud and clear. "What's up, Mini Mama?!"

"Come over!"

"Okay."

"We're in the den." Marcy hung up.

Artie snickered.

Marcy wondered why until she realized she didn't tell Puck goodbye. So she texted it to him.

"So he's going to get her to come down?"

"She'll talk to him. She's not mad at anyone but me."

"I'm sorry, BT. That has to suck. I know if he were mad at me, I'd be totally lost."

She smiled briefly and finished cleaning up. "Take this to the laundry room for me?"

He reached out for the supplies. "I don't know where they go."

She pulled back. "I'll do it myself."

"You don't trust me?"

"You already admitted incompetence."

"That's hurtful, BT!"

"I sorry."

"Sorry!" The twins yelled.

Artie chuckled.

"Are you ready for your blanket?" Marcy asked them.

They ran over and crashed against her. They rubbed all over the quilt. "Soft, Mommy!"

Their English was coming along quite fast.

"You should put that on Instagram or Facebook." Artie commented.

Marcy shrugged.

"Mommy?" Mally played with the quilt.

"Yes, Poppa?"

He grinned at her name for him. "You still mad?"

"No, baby. I'm not still mad."

"So you happy?"

Artie gave her a look.

Luckily she didn't have to answer because Puck strolled in with Beth and Raven. "Hey, Betty!"

Beth ran over and hugged her. "Hi, Tia May!"

"Beth!" The twins cheered.

"Hi, Mally! Hi, Mickey! Hi, Unca Artie."

Artie smiled at her. "Hi, Beth."

Raven screeched at being forgotten.

Marcy reached for her and Puck gave her up. "Hey, Rae. How's it hanging?"

Raven giggled and clapped.

Marcy lifted her above her head and wiggled her slowly, making faces.

"Let me see Diva Jr." Artie reached for the baby.

Marcy gave her up and turned to Puck. "We gotta bounce."

"Why'd you make me come over if you have to leave?" Puck sat on the arm of the couch.

"We as in you, too."

"I can't leave. I got the kids. Mama's at work and Q's shopping. I can't go nowhere."

Marcy cleared her throat and discretely pointed at the nanny, who herded the kids back over to their play corner.

"Oh right! I guess she's a 24/7 thing and not just when-we-want-to-go-out-at-night thing."

"Yup."

"Where we goin?"

"It's a surprise for Karou."

"Are you going to punch her?"

"What?!"

He shrugged. "Just wondering."

"No, I'm not going to punch her."

"Aww." His lips twisted.

"Don't make me punch _you_. Let me put this stuff up and we can go." She walked out.

Artie grinned. "You're tryin to die."

Puck scowled.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Karou opened the door. "Hey?"

"What's up, K-Easy?" Puck poured on the charm.

She smirked back at him. "Not too much, sexy."

He winked at her. "Let's go visit Mama. I know she gotta be bored without us."

Karou thought it over. She wouldn't run into Marcy there. "Okay. Let me grab my wallet."

"Cool." He stayed outside while she went to grab her purse.

She came back and slipped on her shoes before locking her door. "Where's Rae and Beth?"

"With the nanny." Puck only remembered Marionette's name on dire occasions.

They began walking towards the elevators. "I haven't seen them in a bit." Not since she'd been crying on their kitchen table about her favorite (she didn't say that word aloud) cousin and herself being on the outs.

"Still growing. Rae's crawling everywhere now. It took a bit for her to catch on but she doesn't sit still anymore so we have to watch her on the couch but it's cool. Beth hates going outside. Whenever we go to the park, she cries unless the twins are there."

She smirked. "She seems very much like Mercy when she was little."

"Rae?"

"Beth."

"Really?" He pressed the button for the lobby.

"Oh yeah. When Mercy decides you're in, you're in but that just means it's you against the world. She only likes to meet new people like her but she does not like meeting new people."

He almost blurted out that Marcy had told him Mercedes was shy but he was smart and caught it. "I heard that she was really shy."

"She still is. She's better at it and she's definitely going to try to make you comfortable the more uncomfortable she is but she's still very shy."

"Are you shy?"

She snorted. "No way. My brother is though and I know it's a struggle for those who are."

"Don't you have two brothers?"

"I'm talking about my big brother, Ani."

"I don't think I remember him."

"Not many people do." That was said with a bit of edge.

"Pisses you off, doesn't it?"

She shrugged lightly but there was nothing light about it. They stepped off the lift and walked towards the entrance to the building. She stopped short when the doorman opened the door and she could see who was on the other side. "Nope! No!"

"Special K!" Artie reached for her but she jerked away from him. "Would you listen?!"

"You tricked me!" She accused Puck, who nodded. "You asshole!"

Marcy rolled her eyes but remained quiet.

"Special K!" Artie wheeled in front of the door, cutting Karou off. "Would you just listen?! She's trying to do something for you!"

"Yeah, right! She just wants to question my choices more like!" Karou yelled.

"Would you get over yourself?!" Marcy snapped. "Your choices are not important enough for me to give a damn about!"

"Of course you don't care!" _Of course you can't care!_ hung in the air unsaid.

"Forget this. I don't know why I'm wasting my time." Marcy turned to go inside but a guy skating by caught her eye.

The others (Puck, Artie, Karou, the doorman) all followed her eye and noticed the young man on the skateboard. At first there wasn't anything noteworthy about him aside from his brightly colored hair and he was just skating in the street but he attempted a trick and fell flat on his face, skidding a full yard.

Puck and Artie winced. That had to hurt. But Marcy and Karou? they fell into hysterical laughter. Both bent in half, laughing before straightening and slapping hands with each other, still laughing.

The young man stood up and limped to the sidewalk, where he continued his journey but this time on foot.

The girls raucous laughter tapered off into soft giggles and bright smiles before they faced each other in quiet contemplation.

Karou spoke first. "I'm sorry, Twin."

"No, I'm sorry." Marcy apologized.

"No, let me. I'm sorry I called you heartless. You have a big heart. Not many people are in it but I know I am and you're only looking out for me."

"I don't have to be a know-it-all about it though. I only have my experiences and that doesn't make me an expert on all of human life. If Roy makes you happy, that's all that counts."

"You were right about him." Karou hated to admit it. "He tried to hit me."

"I know you're not usually a sub-"

"No. "Hit me" hit me."

Puck and Artie gasped.

"Oh really?" Marcy folded her arms.

"Yeah!" Karou grew angry just thinking about it. "We were arguing about him flirting with another girl _right in front of me_ and he raises his hand like he's going to hit me! I asked him what he thought he was doing and he had the nerve to say I was bringing it on myself!

So I punched him in the nose. Broke it, too." Karou grinned. "I threw him out and told him to lose my number."

"My girl!" Marcy hugged her. "You know we have to visit him?"

"Cuz…"

"Just to press upon him the serious nature of his temper. It's just a talk."

Karou's lips twisted but she was just pleased to have her cousin on her side again. "Do what you must."

"It'll be fun." Marcy waved her away as she let her go.

"Way to go, Special K!" Artie cheered. "You kept your head and stood your ground!"

"What else was I supposed to do?"

"Some girls would be scared in that situation." Puck pointed out.

Karou scoffed. "I'm not some girl."

"I think you deserve your surprise." Marcy ran over his amazed face.

"Ooh! What is it?!"

"You'll have to come to the coffee shop to find out."

"It's really at the coffee shop? What about you and Mercy?"

"It's not Mercy." Marcy shook her head.

"What?" Artie looked at her askance because of her total lack of guile. She really thought Karou thought Mercedes was her surprise.

"What?" Marcy shrugged.

He shook his head and pushed himself forward. "Nevermind. Let's just go."

Marcy looked to Karou, who shrugged. Both began walking in front of him.

Puck snickered as he got behind Artie and started pushing him.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Okay! Okay! What's my surprise? Don't I deserve to know?!" Karou wiggled.

"You breaking up with that tool makes this easier but you know how it seems _everyone_ is in a thruple?" Marcy started.

Karou nodded with suspiciously narrowed eyes. "Yeah?"

"Well you're going to be in one!" Marcy did jazz hands.

"Really?" Karou looked unimpressed.

"My friend, Yuria is coming in, in a couple days. I called her just for you."

"Yuria?"

"Yes! Yuria Parker. She's Vietnamese, crazy talented and super rich. She's going to stay with me a few days until she finds her own place but she's super amazing."

"You've never been to Vietnam, have you?"

"Once but that's not where I met her." Literally nothing changed but they all knew that talking about how Marcy and Yuria met was not up for discussion.

"Oka- wait. You said she'd be here in a few days. Why are we here now?"

"You can't have a thruple with only two people. We're here to meet RT's cousin, Arnold. RT says he's just like him and I've been texting him all summer, telling him all about you and between the two of them, I'm convinced you're going to marry him one day."

Karou grinned accidentally. "Really?! What's he look like?!"

Marcy shrugged.

"Twin!"

"I imagine like RT."

Karou brightened and winked at Artie, who grinned back. "Well let's meet him!"

Artie rolled forward and approached a young guy. He punched his back and he nearly fell off his stool. He swung around with a scowl but then recognized his relative and broke out in a wide smile. "Art!"

"Arn!" Artie reached up for a hug.

The blond bent to embrace him. "It's so good to see you, Cuz!"

"Hell yeah, man! How's Carey and Eric?"

"They're doing good but Carey had issues with me leaving. Eric just wanted me to send him presents."

"Alright, Arn." Artie laughed before pointing out his friends. "This is my man, Puck. This is Boo Thang (you were goin back and forth with her). And _this_ is her cousin, Special K. Karou Seon. Guys, this is my cousin, Arnold Abrams."

"Hot damn, RT!" Marcy blew out a breath. "He's fuckin hot! Literally!"

Arnold blushed and rubbed the back of his neck with a shy chuckle. "Thank you?"

"No, thank you for bein gorgeous! I appreciate it so much!"

"BT!" Artie laughed. "How you gon hit on him when you got a man?"

"He ain't got ta know!"

"Marce!" Karou spat, getting her bearings. "I thought he was for me?!"

" _Shit…_!" She drew the word out. "We might have to share!"

"Ugh!" Karou rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Ignore her. She isn't more than her libido."

"And you are?"

Karou cut her eyes at her before looking the green eyed built blond over. "But she's not wrong. You look almost as good as me."

Arnold snickered. "You do look pretty good."

"So we know you can see. Can you think?"

Arnold wasn't prepared…

Puck wandered over towards his girlfriend. "Hey, Mama."

"Hi, No-No!" Mercedes leaned over to kiss him. "What's going on over there?"

"Mini Mama is trying to set your cousin up with Wheels' cousin. Apparently he's going to NYU next week."

"Ooh! He's cute!"

He looked at her sharply.

She giggled. "Calm down, Noah."

"You only need to be lookin at _me._ "

She kissed him again. "Okay, Noah."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Just a little further." Mal goaded.

Marcy eyed him suspiciously. "I don't trust this."

"So you've said."

"And we believe it, too." Artie whispered. The guys snickered.

Mal cut his eyes at them but continued to guide Marcy forward. "Okay! Here we are!"

She looked up at the storefront. "You're getting a haircut?"

"Kinda."

"Either you are or you aren't."

"Kinda." He opened the door and led her inside.

They all crowded around as he took Mally from her and set him on his feet.

Marcy looked around and connected the dots. Between the shop's childlike decor, the many children and the fact that they brought Mally on his own, Marcy drew the correct conclusion. "No."

"Marce." He used his soft voice.

"Nope!" She moved her hands when he reached for them.

"Would you listen to me for once?"

"No! If you think you're cutting my baby's beautiful hair, you've lost your-" She covered Mally's ears. " _Motherfucking_ mind!"

"Well the only mother I fuck is you." He started. She was not amused so he went on. "He looks like a girl!"

"So what?!"

"So he's a boy! We were at the park yesterday and some lady said our _daughters_ were adorable! That's bad!"

Marcy stomped her right foot as her face crumpled. "No!"

"What are you doing? No!" He tried to stop her but she collapsed onto the floor, threw her head back and wailed. "Marce, stop it!"

Puck, Mike, Finn, Sam, Artie and Blaine winced. New to the group, Arnold felt bad while Karou was shocked her normally composed cousin was having a meltdown in public- over a haircut.

Mally went to his mother and hugged her. "No cry, Mommy."

She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed heavily.

Sam touched her shoulder and she screamed at him. He jumped back and hide behind Blaine.

Mal's lips twitched but he made sure not to smile. He dropped to his haunches and lifted her chin. "Come on. Stop crying. You're going to get a headache."

"No!" She howled.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Mike asked gently.

"He gets a terrible haircut and it never grows back right so we have to shave his head and he becomes known as a skinhead then no girl wants to date him so he grows up awkward and alone and ends up living in the basement, fat, bald and alone until he dies in a film of Cheetos and sweat!"

"That was amazingly detailed…" Blaine blinked.

"That's not going to happen, baby." Mal soothed.

"Yes, it is!" Marcy rocked back and forth.

Karou touched her back. "I think you should let him do this."

"Let someone between you and your son!" Marcy screamed.

"Nobody's coming between you and Mally." Mal assured her. "This isn't the beginning of him leaving you."

She stared at him heartbroken and terrified.

He puckered his lips and touched hers briefly. "Everything will be alright. Stop crying. You can't hold onto him so tightly forever. He's going to need room to grow."

Her breath caught on a sob and she began crying again.

He wrapped his arms around them loosely. "Come on. He needs this. Every boy does. It's going to make him a man. Even Marc had a first haircut."

She sniffled loudly and blinked her big eyes.

Seeing she was calming down, he went on. "He's going to need us for plenty of other stuff and we'll always be there. And push comes to shove, we'll have more children."

She blinked again before nodding. She stopped holding Mally in a death grip.

Mally wiped her face. "Don't be sad, Mommy. I love you."

She kissed his face. "Do you want this?"

Mally didn't even know what _this_ was. But he nodded. "Yeah!"

She took a shuddering breath. "Okay."

"Okay?" Mal wanted to make sure.

She nodded. "Yeah."

He hugged her, squishing Mally between them. "I'm proud of you."

She wasn't sure she was strong enough to do this. She didn't even know why she had to be strong. It was just hair. She'd wanted to cut her own a thousand times over. But her mother wouldn't let her. That sealed it right there. Mally was getting his first haircut! "Let's do it."

A barber walked over, bowled over by the scene. "May I help you?"

Mal stood and helped Marcy rise. "We're here for one haircut."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Marcy steeled her spine.

"Okay. Do you have a particular style in mind?"

Marcy blinked up at Mal.

Mal chewed on his lips with a frown. "Not really."

The man showed them a book with different hairstyles.

"I kinda like this but it's very short." Marcy wasn't sure.

"It's just hair." Mal reminded her.

"Right. We'd like this one." Marcy showed the style.

The barber nodded. "Okay, set him in and we'll get started."

Mal picked Mally up and set him in an "airplane" chair. The little boy looked down, feeling like something was about to happen and he was unsure if it was good.

The barber tied a bib around Mally's neck and grabbed his clippers. He turned them on and it went _very_ wrong.

Mally started crying.

Mal rubbed his back. "What's wrong, buddy?"

Mally reached for him.

Mal didn't pick him up. "It's just clippers, son."

Mally didn't give a damn. "Mommy!"

Marcy pushed Mal out of the way and picked her son up. She cradled him close and murmured soothingly in his ear.

The guys were snickering up a storm.

"Marce!" Mal straightened. "I thought we agreed this was for the best?"

"You do it then!" She spat.

He ran a hand through his hair and realized it was a bit long. "Fine. I will."

Both Marcy and Mally looked at him.

Mal dragged a waiting area chair over and sat down. "A little off the top please."

"I usually don't cut adult hair." The barber teased.

"I'm still seventeen."

The man looked between him, Marcy and Mally. "Okay. Want the same style?"

Mal almost balked but knew his baby was watching so he nodded.

The barber shaved his hair closely with less than an inch of hair at the top of his head then extremely close everywhere else in a more better looking buzz cut.

When he was done, Mal stood up and shook his shirt out. "How do I look?"

"You got big ears…" Marcy blinked.

Mike started crying from the effort it took to keep his giggles suppressed. The others weren't far behind.

"Other than my ears…" Mal bit off.

Marcy ran a hand over his head. "I can't pull it anymore."

He grinned. "I'm sorry."

"But it feels nice."

"As long as you like it." He kissed her, a bit concerned that she didn't swipe at him. "Can he go now?"

"Ready, Poppa?" Marcy kissed Mally's cheek.

Mally nodded. If his daddy was brave, he could be brave.

Marcy sat him back in the chair but held his hand. Both squeezed.

The barber made sure he worked quickly. Honestly once the shock wore off, he found it amusing. He knew most kids were afraid their first haircut but this took the cake. "And done."

Marcy smiled. "Look at you! You're so handsome!"

Mally beamed as he ran a hand over his now curlless head. "Me?"

"Yeah, baby!" She kissed him.

"Now he can see!" Mike high-fived the little boy, who giggled.

"Speaking of…" The barber picked up a pair of scissors.

They all looked at him blankly.

He looked pointedly at Marcy, who had hair that reached her thighs.

"You're not cutting my hair!" She looked at him like he was crazy.

"Not the back but I've never seen anyone's bangs touch their chest. I don't even know what you look like."

She glared at him. "You don't need to!"

"Mally and I went." Mal lifted a shoulder.

She opened her mouth but he kissed her. She hit him. He grinned, happy that she was fine. "Hurry up!"

"Hurry up?"

She pushed her hair back but it just came back like any other time she pushed it out of her face. "I don't have all day!" She sat in the chair Mal vacated.

The barber smiled and began cutting. He cut them a tad short because her bangs were naturally wavy and would be longer when straightened. They came almost to her eyes. "We can donate this if you want."

"That'd be great."

"You can write it off-"

"Oh no. I don't do that. Charity isn't about tax write-offs."

He smiled. "Okay then. Step over here and we'll get you tallied up."

Marcy picked Mally up. "Wow. I can see. It's really bright today."

"Are you serious?" Artie grinned.

"Yeah." Marcy squinted. "It's way too bright. My goodness! I need shades."


	18. Chapter 18

Mercedes peeked into the room. "Hi, Lucy!"

"Hi, Mercy." Quinn rolled over.

Mercedes went to climb in the bed and laid her head right next to her twin's. "I just came from giving Mally and Mickey their lesson."

Quinn yawned. "Where's Beth?"

"With Noah. Apparently she woke up from her nap but you were still asleep so she went to find him."

"Good. I didn't expect her to leave though."

"Hurt your feelings?"

Quinn smiled and reclosed her eyes. "How were the twins?"

"They're picking it up but they're more into Duchess. Mickey especially kept stopping to ask me questions about pregnant dogs."

"Duchess is a beautiful dog. Marce says her owner is awful."

"Poor puppy." Mercedes pouted.

"Did you see Marcy?"

"For a bit." Mercedes suddenly grabbed Quinn and shook her. "Ooh! Guess what!"

Quinn was rattled. "What?!"

"You know the girl Karou said Marcy was bringing in for her?"

"I have to. It's all she talks about besides Arnold. Although he's very good-looking so she's not wrong."

"Lucy!" Mercedes stressed. "She's here! I just met her! Marcy introduced us and she's just the loveliest thing!"

"Aww!"

"The important part was Karou got tongue-tied around her. She couldn't say anything beyond "hi" and Yuria was just as stuck. They shook hands for a full minute!"

"No way!" Quinn turned on her side, facing Mercedes.

Mercedes nodded empathetically. "Yes! They just stood there until Marcy brought in Arnold. All three were über cute! They blushed and stammered until Rou realized who she was and started flirting with both. He relaxed and flirted back but Yuria was still a bit shy. Until Marcy started flirting with her and Karou got mad.

Then everybody was friends!"

"I'm so sorry I missed that!" Quinn sulked.

"I had to come home and tell you."

"Thank you, Twin."

"You're welcome, Twin."

"Wanna call Mikey and have him paint our toes?"

Mercedes reached for her phone. "I'll dial."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Quinn looked down at her phone. She read the text twice before she smiled. "Hey, Sissy, guess what?"

Mercedes looked over from making iced tea. "What?"

"Marcy wants us to go school supply shopping."

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

"That'll be fun for you guys. I need to go one day soon, too-"

"No, Sissy. She wants you to come, too."

Mercedes stopped stirring. "What? Are you serious?"

"Yes. She wants all the girls to go but she specifically said you."

Mercedes sniffled. "Do you think she's not mad anymore?"

Quinn couldn't answer that. "Hopefully?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Shouldn't we go to the school stores for this?" Santana looked around Office Max.

"Why exactly do you want to pay an arm and a leg for notebooks when you can get ten for a quarter here?" Marcy stared at her.

"You are the cheapest rich person I know."

"How do you think you stay rich?"

"You sound like my Papí." Santana made a face.

"Mr. Enerilson is smart. He got your mom."

"What does that mean?!"

"You know what it means."

"What are you saying?! That my mom is attractive?!"

"What are you saying? That your mom is ugly?"

Santana burst into tears.

"Stop messing with her, Marcy!" Brittany wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.

"Ain't nobody messin with her. She alright. Now come on. We do have to go to the college stores but it's early morning and Office Max is empty!" That made Marcy happy.

"What do we need exactly?" Ellen asked, wanting to wrap around Marcy but knowing the Gemini wouldn't appreciate it.

"We can start off with easy stuff. Looseleaf paper, binders, protective sleeves and staples."

"What about staplers?" Tina grinned.

Marcy wagged her finger with a saucy smile. "If you think being sassy will put you on the level with Mikey, you're wrong."

Tina covered her face and giggled.

Quinn's shoulders shook. "She's right. You'd have to pull off super-villainy."

"Guys?!"

"They're right." Mercedes shrugged. "Mikey's just plain bad. You should have seen how he acted before we came to New York. I thought Laura was going to kill him."

"What'd he do?" Anna's eyes widened.

"Something something frogs." Marcy's lips twitched.

"What?" Santana was calm now.

"It doesn't matter what it was. It involved frogs." Karou clarified.

"Dead frogs." Quinn said helpfully.

Rachel turned green. "Oh no."

"Oh yes." Marcy grinned.

"And your brother does this a lot?" Khandi, who along with Jade was invited, asked fearfully.

"Yes." Mercedes nodded.

She gulped.

"Oh no! Don't worry about him doing that to you! He only does that to family and his male friends. He's a good man most of the time."

"Thank goodness!" Jade breathed easier.

"Mikey's a mess but he loves women." Marcy strode forward.

"What?" Tina was barely asking.

"You can't tell me you don't notice. He's in love with all women."

Tina forced her bottom lip out.

"Don't cry, T." Mercedes hugged her. "It's a good thing. He hates seeing women upset. He's always courteous. He's respectful and polite. He's the best."

"Except for that evil streak…" Marcy picked up a binder. She'd walked to a section and they'd all followed her.

"I can live with that." Tina said slowly.

"Good." Mercedes squeezed her. "I want you to be our sister-in-law one day."

Tina beamed.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"I'm bored!" Puck groaned.

"We should have gone with the girls like Arnold and Jude." Artie sighed heavily.

"Shopping for school supplies?" Sam was confused.

"At least we'd be by them." Mike pointed out.

"Instead of looking at each other." Mal sneered.

"Kurt says they're done at Office Max anyway." Blaine reported.

"Does that mean they're on their way home?" Finn asked hopefully.

"No. They're visiting all their schools to get personalized stuff and their books plus Marcy wants to go to an art store."

"Don't we got to do that?" Artie wanted to know.

"Yup." Mike intoned. "I can only imagine how heavy pre-med books are."

"Don't you need other stuff, too?" Finn posed.

"Yeah but Marce will get it for me."

"You're so lucky to have her as a sister." Artie sighed.

"What?!" Mal was close to laughing.

"I said sister. You're screwed."

"She's a terrible sister when she wants to be!"

"How?!" Artie didn't believe him.

"October will be here really soon."

"What does that mean?" Finn asked, afraid.

Mal lifted his brows but said nothing.

Mike snickered. "Her favorite holiday is Halloween. You don't think she's going to prank you?"

"But she never had before…" Finn had a thready quality to his voice.

"Because you didn't live across the hall."

Finn gulped.

Puck scoffed. "What's the worst she can do?"

Mike laughed.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Your bookstore-"

"Was dead inside?" Marcy supplied.

Tina nodded slowly. "It didn't have as many colors as this one."

"NYU is fun. Cornell is not."

"Columbia seems to be in the middle."

"Aren't you glad we walked around a bit? The campus doesn't look so unfamiliar now."

"Thank you, Marcy." Tina beamed.

"For walking?" Marcy was lost.

Tina giggled. "Mercy seems to be in love with NYU's bookstore. I'm not sure if she's getting all this stuff for Puck or for her."

"She's a school lover. It's for her." Marcy smirked. Her phone rang so she checked it. "It's Mal."

"He misses you." Tina gushed.

"Not even." Marcy scoffed. "He's hungry."

"Is that what he said?" Tina tried to peer at the text.

"No but I know him. He's either bored, hungry or both."

"I think he misses you."

"Tia May!" Beth walked over with a NYU hat on. "Look what I got!"

"Look at you!" Marcy cooed. Beth had come along because she was gearing up for her very first day of school next week. "Mommy got you that for Papa?"

"Yeah!" Beth peeked up at her with a grin.

Marcy knelt down and kissed her cheeks. "I bet he's going to be so surprised when you get home!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah and he's going to love it!"

"Yay!" Beth ran to find her mother to get her more items that would make her father happy.

Tina smiled as Marcy stood. "You are so good with kids. They love you."

Marcy didn't know how to respond to that so she didn't.

Tina felt she embarrassed her so she changed the subject. "Ellen is going to love it here."

Marcy wondered if Tina knew she was saying things that required no response.

Luckily Tina could talk. "I can't wait to visit her up here. Will you?"

"Maybe?" Marcy couldn't say for sure.

"Maybe?! You don't know if you're going to visit your girlfriend at school?!"

Marcy's eyes widened as people turned to stare. "Goodbye." She walked off.

Tina jammed her fists on her hips. "Marcy! Marcy, you stop right there! Don't run from me!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Finn waved his arm. "Go!"

Puck pushed Raven slightly. She rolled over and giggled. "Come on, Rae. We can't race if you don't move."

Raven moved side to side like a turtle before flipping onto her stomach. She got to her hands and knees and began crawling to Finn.

Puck was surprised. _Did she just_ _fake me out?_ He quickly got his bearings and crawled after her.

It was touch and go for a minute because Raven was fast while Puck was awkward. In the end, Finn cheated by picking Raven up and dancing with her. "Aww! You win!"

She giggled and shrieked.

"Really, bro?" Puck sat back on his legs.

"Yup!" Finn continued dancing.

Puck shrugged and began dancing on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

Both stilled and turned towards the doorway. Mercedes, Quinn, Rachel, Anna and Beth stood there, clearly wondering what was going on here. "Uh…"

"Where's a tape recorder when you need one?" Quinn smirked.

Puck popped up. "Nothing! We're not doing nothing!"

"Seems like you were dancing?" Anna giggled.

"No?" Finn asked.

Raven pulled his hair and slapped at his shoulders, wanting him to move again.

Mercedes set her bags down and crossed to Finn to retrieve her child. "Come here, baby. Yeah. Papa and Uncle Finn are silly, aren't they?"

Raven cuddled up to her mother and closed her eyes. She began chattering in baby talk.

"Hi, Sissy." Beth went to stand by Mercedes. "I gots school supplies."

Raven opened and closed her hand.

"Didja?" Puck asked.

"Uh huh!" Beth grew excited to show her father what she'd gotten. "I gots a bunch of stuff!"

"Wanna show me?"

She brought her bags over to him and began pulling stuff out.

Finn chuckled. "We're glad you're home."

"You looked like you were doing fine without us." Mercedes teased as she walked over to her boyfriend.

Finn flushed.

"Be good, Mercy." Quinn laughed. "I can't believe I had to say that!"

"You didn't have to." Mercedes smiled serenely.

"You're acting like Mikey."

"He's one of my favorite brothers."

"Mine, too!"

"Kurt's my favorite brother." Finn didn't want to be left out.

"Kurt's your only brother." Rachel pointed out.

He pouted.

Quinn kissed his cheek. "He can be your only and favorite. Mal is my favorite little brother."

"Don't you hate him on a daily basis?" Anna asked.

"He gets on my nerves on a daily basis. But I still love him. Most times…"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Marcy frowned in her sleep. Something was licking her face. Another swipe and her eyes peeled open. Sully was licking her in an effort to wake her up.

She sat up. "What is it, boy?"

He took her hand between his teeth and pulled.

She took her hand back and pushed aside the covers to get up. She stood up and put on her glasses, needing the extra support in the night. "Alright, I'm coming."

Sully led her downstairs and to the den, where Duchess was set up. He went to her and nudged her with his nose.

Duchess lifted her head and whined.

"Shit." Marcy yawned. "Okay, girl. I got you." She turned on a lamp and went to a closet for towels, stopping in the bathroom to wash her face and hands.

Duchess panted heavily.

Marcy repositioned her and rubbed her stomach in soft, wide strokes. "It won't be long now."

Duchess gave a low bark.

"Marce? What's going on?" Mal's voice came from behind her.

She shushed him even though his voice was low. "Duchess is in labor."

"What?!" He woke up at that.

She shushed him again. "Go back to bed."

"I'm not going to leave you here to deal with this alone." He sat next to her. He rubbed Duchess's head gently. "How you doin, Mama?"

Duchess moved her head, making him rub more. She put a paw on his arm.

"You're gonna be a mommy." He spoke softly. "You're going to have a bunch of puppies to look after."

Marcy watched him as he sprouted nonsense to the belabored dog. That was one of the things she loved most about him; his ability and desire to put others at ease.

"What are you guys doing?" Ellen's sleepy voice floated over.

"Is this a board meeting?"

"Huh?" Ellen yawned as she approached.

"Why is everyone getting up? Next we'll have the news station here."

"I rolled over and no one was in bed. I checked on the twins but they're still asleep."

"Duchess is in labor."

Ellen's eyes widened. "Oh!"

"Come here." Marcy reached for her.

Ellen came closer and gave her hand as she sank to her knees.

Marcy put their hands on Duchess's enlarged belly and moved gently. "Do you feel them?"

Ellen was in awe. "Oh my goodness!" She whispered. "It feels so weird!"

"It feels like that with people, too."

Ellen smiled. "I can't believe- oh no! What's going on?!"

"One's coming out. Sit back." Marcy held a towel up to Duchess and caught the first puppy out. She rubbed it a bit before setting it in front of Duchess.

Duchess began to lick it clean.

"What is it?" Ellen asked in hushed tones.

"I didn't look." Marcy used her fingers to push the pup's legs apart briefly. "Boy."

"Alright, Sully." Mal congratulated. "You have your heir."

Sully sniffed around the puppy but Marcy pushed him away.

"Why are you pushing him away?" Ellen wanted to know.

"So he doesn't eat him."

Ellen could have died. Her whole world was shook. "What?"

"He'll be able to see them when they get older. Right now, he's a threat."

"Should he even be here right now then?"

"You kick him out."

Ellen eyed the wolfdog. "I'm fine."

Marcy smirked. "Another one's coming."

Sure enough, Duchess gave birth to another puppy, another boy.

"You're doing so good, Mama." Mal petted Duchess's head.

"Uh oh…" Marcy murmured.

"Why "uh oh"? What's going on?" Ellen panicked.

Mal kissed her cheek. "It's okay."

"You don't know why she said "uh oh" though."

"It's okay, Ellie." Marcy smirked. "I just have to pull this one out."

"What?" Ellen paled.

"You have to do that sometimes." Marcy gently but firmly pulled the puppy out. It was a girl. She set her in front of Duchess to clean.

"That was scary. How many is she going to have?"

"Don't know."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"A bit. If she's going to have any more, they'll be coming soon."

So they waited. After half an hour, they realized no more was coming so Marcy set the puppies in front of Duchess's teats and let them drink.

Unfortunately it was _after_ they began crying for substance.

"It's okay." Ellen cooed. "You're going to eat now."

Mal chuckled. "You're so cute."

Ellen wrinkled her nose at him.

Marcy smirked. "Will you put the guard up?"

"Sure." Mal, who she was talking to, got up to get the red railing.

"What's that for?" Ellen asked.

"To keep them in and others out." Marcy pushed the blankets so the puppies wouldn't freeze in the night and also so Duchess would be comfortable.

"Are you still walking Sully tomorrow? I mean today?"

"If he leaves the house. But keep an eye on him if he stays. He might try to climb in anyway."

Mal returned with the guard and put it up around Duchess and the puppies. "There you go."

Sully curled up beside it and lay down.

Marcy stood up. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Night, Mama." Mal petted Duchess one last time.

"Bye." Ellen waved.

Marcy led them out, leaving the lamp on for extra warmth. She stopped by the laundry room to put the towels in the wash and washed her hands in the sink. Mal and Ellen did, too.

The trio went upstairs and climbed into bed. Ellen squealed as they got comfortable. "We're grandparents!"

Mal looked at her as Marcy giggled uncontrollably.


	19. Chapter 19

"I'm so nervous!" Anna whimpered.

"Don't be nervous." Mercedes squeezed her hand.

"What about me? Can I be nervous?" Sam was white as a sheet.

"Stop that!" She smacked her lips. "We're all going to do great!"

"Mercy, _you're_ good at school. I'm not."

"I keep telling you you're smart."

His face called her a liar.

She swatted him. "How about you guys? Are you excited?"

Brittany nodded. "Juilliard has to be better than MIT."

Ellen chewed on her lips. "I don't know. High school was hard on me. What if I don't make any friends?"

"Of course you're going to make friends, honey! You already have friends there and you'll make a bunch more!" Mercedes cooed.

"You're so sweet." Ellen beamed.

"I know." Mercedes grinned bashfully.

The others laughed.

"Come on. Let's finish our walk and get back so we can eat a big breakfast to start the day."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mike yawned. He shouldn't have picked such an early block but he knew he was going to be busy days and needed to wake up as early as possible. Dancing woke him up. So here he was at a 7AM dance class.

Luckily Marcy was with him. They were all on the floor, watching the professor walk back and forth, describing the requirements of the class. The sun blared through the windows as birds continued chirping everyone awake.

He nudged his little sister, whose eyes were glazed over. She looked at him and blinked twice slowly. She mouthed what? to him.

He grinned and mouthed _hi back to her._

The corner of her mouth kicked up and she stretched her legs out then one in his direction to rest her foot against his leg. She applied pressure.

He picked her foot up and making sure the professor wasn't looking, dragged her over slowly.

Marcy tried not to grin but a sunny smile broke through anyway. She was tickled by Mike's silly side.

He pulled her over then tugged on her hand to make her splay across him, holding her tightly.

She put her hand over her mouth but a wide grin overtook her features, making her wide eyes narrow.

He swayed gently, humming softly in her ear.

The professor had them all stand up so Mike dragged Marcy up. "Ready?"

She nodded, her finally straightened hair in its strict bun barely moving.

The professor went through the beginning steps and called certain students forward to repeat them.

Marcy was in that first group.

Mike watched her move fluidly and felt pride. His little sister was damned good. She got her talent from him… When that group was finished, the professor picked a new group.

Mike was in that second group. Making eye contact with Marcy, he performed the steps masterfully. At the end, he walked over to Marcy as the next group took over. "How'd I look?"

She kissed his cheek. "Don't get cocky."

His mouth fell open.

She fell into silent giggles.

He grinned and hugged her.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Quinn hurried across the street and skirted a taxi to make it to the short building. She exhaled sharply as she came to a stop in front of it. "Hi, Beth! Hey, Puck. Sorry I'm late. My professor made us all perform this song- and it doesn't even matter. I'm here now."

"Mommy tired?" Beth looked up at her mom.

"So far, yes." Quinn grabbed her free hand.

Puck smirked. "You ready?"

"Yes. Let's get this over with."

The trio walked inside and to the correct room. Inside was chaos. Children were screaming and running everywhere, the room was a mess and two grown women were begging students for different items to be relinquished.

Beth didn't like this at all. She peered around before shrinking back. "No."

"It's okay, Beth." Puck dropped to his haunches. "You're going to make friends."

Beth looked at him like he lied.

Quinn sank to her knees. "Remember what Mommy said about making friends?"

Beth nodded but she didn't think she could do it. She wasn't very assertive.

"Just do that and you'll be fine."

"Hello." A frazzled teacher walked over with an outstretched hand. "Who do we have here?"

"I'm Quinn Fabray and this is Noah Puckerman. This is our daughter, Beth Puckerman." Quinn shook her hand.

Puck shook it next. "How you doing?"

"Hello." The woman shook delicately. "I'm Mrs. Wetherby. Hi, Beth. How are you?"

"Hi." Beth looked up at this woman she didn't know.

"You can go put away your backpack and find a place to sit while I talk to your mommy and daddy."

Beth didn't want to do that but she didn't have it in her to disobey. "Bye, Mommy. Bye, Papa."

"We'll see you later, sweetie." Quinn gave her a hug and a kiss. "Remember Marionette's picking you up afterschool. Papa and I will see you later but you'll be able to play with Rae and the twins."

Beth brightened at the mention of her sister and cousins. "Okay!"

Puck got his hug and kiss in. "See you later, Beth."

Beth waved as she walked away.

Her parents watched her as she put away her Hello Kitty backpack and went to sit down. Alone.

"Ms. Fabray?" Mrs. Wetherby caught Quinn's attention. "Would you be able to be a den mother from time to time?"

"Den mother?" Quinn wasn't paying attention. She was silently willing Beth to get up and talk to somebody.

"Yes. All the moms take turns providing for the class. Sometimes baking treats, sometimes chaperoning trips, sometimes volunteering in the classroom."

Quinn clued back in. "Uh sure."

"I can put your name on the roster then?"

"Yes." What did she just agree to?

"Perfect! And Mr. Puckerman, can we look forward to help from you as well?"

Puck blinked. "What can I do?"

"You can chaperone trips as well and build sets for plays. Plenty of things."

He grimaced but he'd do anything for his children. "Sure. Sign me up."

Mrs. Wetherby smiled. "Good. Now you two can go about your days and be rest assured that Beth is well cared for."

"Okay." Quinn didn't want to go. Beth still hadn't said a word.

Puck took her arm and smiled at Mrs. Wetherby. "See ya!"

"Goodbye!" The woman waved.

Puck tugged Quinn out. "They won't let us stay here."

"But she's not talking to anyone!" The blonde tried to peer backwards but Puck was moving at a brisk clip.

"We can't make her talk. Now you said this was the best school in New York. They'll teach her how to make friends."

"Right." She nodded. "She'll make friends. We did."

Puck didn't bring up how he hadn't had a real friend until Finn in the third grade. "Yeah."

Quinn took a stabilizing breath. "Good. I have to go. I have a law class to get to."

"I have a history class." Though good in history, it bored him. He was not looking forward to it.

"See you at home." She went one way and he went another.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Santana ran through the scales again.

Her professor lifted her chin and straightened her back. She threw her cane against the floor in place of saying "again".

The piano player started playing again so Santana started from the top.

While she was singing, the shrewd woman paced to and fro and pointed out mistakes and correct timing. It was harsh but fair.

Although Santana just wanted to be asleep. She was counting down the hours until she could crawl back into bed.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Blaine parried a blow by his opponent. He advanced and thrust. His "enemy" fell backwards, calling an end to the scene.

His professor clapped slowly. "Good work, Mr. Anderson." He spoke slowly as if he had all day but not so slowly as if it took him all day to think it up. "You will be the first solider in our Greek tragedy. Mr. Garrison…, you will try next play."

Blaine gulped. This was the hardest teacher he'd ever had and it was the first day!

 ** _M-A-P_**

Finn escorted Rachel to the theater. "Here you go."

"Thank you but you didn't have to come all the way to NYADA to get me." Rachel smiled up at him.

"I wanted to. Quinn is stuck at a lecture and I didn't want us to not see each other until bedtime."

She hugged him. "Thank you for that. What are you about to do?"

"I have some time so I'm going to see Quinn then go to class."

"What are you going to do after classes?"

"See how Puck did today."

Rachel giggled. Of course…

 ** _M-A-P_**

Artie signed up at the bulletin board for all the help he could get or be. He was still directing videos for his friends and needed help but he wanted to be help so he could learn all he could.

A girl watched him sign up. "Hey. You're signing up for a lot. Can you hack it?"

"Girl, ain't nothin hack about me."

She laughed. "I like your style."

"You ain't seen my style. I go hard."

"Taffy Miller." She stuck out a hand.

"Artie Abrams." He shook it.

"I'm a second year. Haven't seen you before."

"First year."

"That explains it. Want to have a cup of coffee and have me explain the ins and outs?"

"For sure. Let's do it."

They turned as one and made their way down the hall, talking about themselves and where they originally came from.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Tina waved goodbye to Mal and headed to the subway. It was not only her first day of school but her first day of shooting for the soap opera.

She was so nervous! Would she do alright? Would she bomb? Would she be great?

She made it to set. A trailer was set up for her to use as Amanda (the shopping producer) showed her where to go. She was to change into a red glittery gown for her first scene and go to makeup.

As she dressed, she tried to remember all of her lines from the table read. She and her scene partners had good chemistry and they'd made her relaxed but she was still nervous.

She exited her trailer and went to makeup and hair. When she was done, she went to her marker to wait. After about ten minutes, they called action and she was on.

Logically she knew they weren't rolling tape until the second or third take but she felt the spirit of performing take over her.

She was phenomenal.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Kurt was exhausted. After classes, he'd had to go into Vogue then work a shift at the diner. On the bright-side, he brought food home for him and Tina. He seriously didn't feel like cooking.

He took his shoes off at the door and slepped to the kitchen, where he set the food down. He went on to his room, where he put away his things from the day then texted Tina that he had dinner.

He went back to the kitchen to get a drink. He'd never been more glad to have friends with a winery in their family before. He needed a glass of red stat!

Tina texted that she was having a late dinner with Mike so he put her portion in the fridge for later and warmed up his to eat in front of the television in the den. He didn't even want to call any of his other friends to come down and watch something with him. For all he knew, they had days like him (they had).

He put his feet on the couch, his throbbing, aching feet, and sipped his wine. Time for a Judy Garland marathon until he took a relaxing bubble bath and went to bed. But until then, he'd see how his boyfriend was doing.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes, Anna, Brittany, Sam and Karou stood up when Marcy and Ellen came from the elevators with their dogs.

"Sorry we're late." Marcy glared down at an unrepentant Sully. "Somebody doesn't know how to let go of his kids."

"It's so cute." Ellen found it. "He sits by them all day long and watches over them even though Marcy won't let him in the pen."

"Wolves are pack animals but he makes me sick. She can get away with pooping in the house. You can't!" That last part was to Sully.

Karou giggled as they all moved outside. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Marcy glared one more time at her "bad" dog before patting Secret on the head.

The duo got into position before taking off running.

The others walked behind slowly.

" _So_ …?" Mercedes asked when it was quiet for a while. "How was everyone's first day?"


	20. Chapter 20

**_Sorry it's so late._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

"Go play." Mal instructed.

Mally tore off in search of new adventures.

Mal went to sit on a bench.

"How often do you do this?" Artie asked.

"I try for once a week. It's usually me trying to find things we can do together but I thought he just needed time away from Mickey today." Mal sat back and relaxed.

"What's Boo Thang doing with Mickey then?"

"Probably a tea party. Mick loves those. Plus she gets to make her mommy be polite and ladylike. Even she knows her mama is wild as all outdoors."

The guys snickered.

"Speaking of Mini Mama being wild, how's the twins birthday party coming along?" Puck asked.

Mal sighed deeply. "She's being a total girl. She changes her mind every five minutes! I doubt they're even going to remember this birthday and she's trying to top every idea she gets. Now she's onto taking a group of kids to a farm to ride horses and have a picnic."

"Actually that doesn't sound too bad." Sam admitted.

"She'll change her mind." Mal assured him.

"Leave my sister alone!" Mike smacked his shoulder. "She wants her kids to have a great birthday!"

"They're turning two! I don't remember my second birthday! Do you?!"

"Yes! You weren't there!"

"Yes, I was, you jerk!"

"You were just born! You don't count!"

Mal bared his teeth but Finn cut in. "What are you doing for _your_ birthday?"

"I don't know." Mal glared once more at his grinning brother before facing the tall ex-quarterback. "I'm hoping we can go out."

"All of us?" Blaine asked.

"That'd be cool but I meant the three of us. We haven't spent much time just the three of us since school started."

"You have a nanny, right?" Arnold asked. "Can't you go out any time?"

"We don't want Marionette raising our kids. Besides we're so busy that it feels like she is anyway."

"Tell the truth." Artie smirked. "If you really wanted to date, you'd put those kids in the bed and be out all night. Something's stopping you from doing it."

"Someone." Jude cleared his throat delicately.

"Who?" Arnold was confused.

Mal flushed. "Marcy isn't one for being seen. She's a homebody if there's people around. She likes nature and being outside but only if no one's around. Date nights are out of the question."

"I actually agree with you there." Mike shook his head. "I'd be sad if T didn't want to be seen with me."

"It's not me!" Mal shouted.

Puck laughed. "You are a terrible brother."

Mike grinned. "I'm a great brother. Ask Mercy."

"Please!" Puck scoffed. "She loves everyone, including her big brother, Mikey."

Mike made a face. "So?!"

Finn chuckled. "Except for spiders, Quinn doesn't think you can do wrong."

"I can't. I'm perfect."

Artie fell out laughing. "That's my boy!"

Blaine shook his head with a rueful smile. "Mike."

"Marcy says I'm the perfect big brother." Mike shrugged, embarrassed by his own words.

"And you know she don't hand out those kinda compliments too often!" Artie wiped away tears.

"Let's all sit and think of the best compliments she ever gave us." Mal teased.

Puck laughed. "The first time she saw me without my shirt. It was back home when I was at her house in the pool. She lowered her sunglasses and said, "Damn!". Then she put 'em up and that was it. Made me feel good about myself."

Mal looked horrified as the guys laughed.

"She was telling me about Quinn. Stuff she liked and didn't like in a guy and stuff and I was starting to feel a little down cuz it seemed the total opposite of me and she gave me this angry look and said, " _Would you quit?! You know you're not ugly!_ ". I blushed around her for a week after that." Finn recalled.

Mal growled.

"Alright, I got one." Artie grinned. "I sang her my auction piece for glee and she looked me in the eye and said that nobody had to know what went on in the choir room if there wasn't no tapes."

Mal glared at him.

"She called me a glass of milk once." Sam frowned. "She was biting her lip and _really_ looking at me when she said it. I asked her what it meant and she kissed my face."

Mal wasn't sure what it meant either but was still mad.

Blaine wanted to contribute. "It was during _West Side Story_ and she told me that if I weren't so committed to Kurt, we could have a lot of fun. Then she kissed me. On the lips."

Mal took deep breaths. Why were all their favorite compliments sexual?!

"At a time when I was at my lowest, Marceline Anne hugged me and told me I was the most human person she'd ever met." Jude said quietly.

Mal smiled.

"I just met her and she told me she'd climb me like a tree." Arnold wrecked his calm.

Mal was back to scowling.

Matt Rutherford (who attended NYU and was reunited with his glee group) grinned. "She told me I was just like Mike."

Mike grinned, too. "Mine would have to be when I gave her Michelangelo and she hugged me and told me she loved me and I was the best big brother anyone could ask for."

"Aww!" The guys teased.

Mike beamed. "What about you, Runt?" He hit Mal gently. "What's your favorite compliment from my amazing little sister?"

Mal thought about it. "She called me a great father."

"Aww! Look at him blush! He's a good father!"

"Shut up! I'm telling Marc!"

"You get on my nerves!"

The guys laughed.

"Stop being so mad." Artie teased. "Let's get some food. I'm starving! Let's get tacos!"

"That sounds good!" They all began murmuring amongst themselves.

Mal stood up to collect his son but didn't readily find him. "Uh… guys?"

"Yeah?" They asked.

"Do you see Mally?"

"What?" They looked at him questioningly.

"Do you see Mally?" He repeated as he scanned the park.

They started craning their necks to find the little boy but he was nowhere to be seen.

A panic started in Mal's chest.

Mike pushed and pulled at him. "Hey! Hey! Snap out of it! We'll find him! Let's just look! He couldn't have gotten far!"

The guys split up and combed the park. On their second perusal, Mal's phone rang. He picked up, not thinking. "What?!"

"What's with you?" Marcy's voice floated in his brain.

He made an inhuman noise as he bent over to drag breath in.

"Mal, what is going on?" She was clearly alarmed and he didn't blame her. This was an alarming situation.

He tried to lie. "I- nothing! Everything's fine!"

"Or you could tell me what you did and we can get over it together?"

That's why he didn't lie. He was terrible at it. He gulped. "I lost Mally."

Obviously she didn't hear him because her "What?" sounded more confused than angry.

"I lost Mally." He spoke up.

"You- you _what_?"

A shiver went down his spine at her tone. "I-"

"You lost my baby?!" There was the thunder.

He winced and looked at the phone, certain others had heard her. He returned the device to his ear. "I'll find him. I promise you-"

"Where are you?"

He told her. "But don't worry! We'll find him!"

She hung up on him.

He tried to call her back but she refused to answer. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

"I don't want to be in your shoes." Artie obviously overheard.

"She's going to kill me!"

"Now I'm afraid of this happening to me."

"Just help me find him!"

The group asked every adult in the park if they'd seen the little boy but no one had. So they fanned out and tried a wider perimeter.

Mal was starting to get scared. If something happened to his son, he didn't know what he'd do. "We gotta search wider. We had to have missed something."

"Like my son?" An icy voice said from behind them.

"Ah!" They jumped and turned around.

Marcy stood there, breathing fire.

"Baby." Mal spoke quickly. "Baby, we'll find him-"

She held up a hand. "How could you lose my baby? How could you lose you own son-?!"

"Baby, I'm sorry!" He went to her and tried to embrace her but she made it difficult. "We'll find him! I-!"

"Mommy!"

Both turned to that sweet little voice. Marcy crouched low and opened her arms. Mally crashed into her and she covered his face with kisses.

"Mommy, play?" He squeezed in.

Mal felt faint. He sank to his knees and hugged both Marcy and Mally.

A throat clearing had the parents looking up. A man stood there, patiently. "Hi. I found him wandering around by a food truck. I figured he was probably playing here and you'd be worried sick."

"Thank you so much!" Marcy was close to tears and they all could tell.

"No cry, Mommy." Mally didn't want his mother upset.

She ran a hand over his short hair and kissed his chubby cheek. "Okay. I won't cry, baby."

He balled his fists in her hair as he hugged her. "Love you, Mommy."

"I love you, too."

"Daddy also loves you." Mal spoke up.

"Love you, Daddy." Mally reached out a hand to touch him.

Mal completed the contact, feeling close to tears himself. "What can we give you? We owe you so much."

The businessman shook his head. "I have two little ones. I know how I'd feel."

"Thank you. Thank you." Marcy could find no other words.

"You're welcome. Well I have to go. My lunch hour is almost over. Goodbye, young man." The man waved.

Mally waved back. "Bye-bye!"

The man nodded to the group before walking away.

Marcy stood up, Mally still in her arms.

Mal stood, too, unsure of her mood. He watched her warily.

"I'm going to take him with me to my photoshoot." She sniffled without meeting Mal's stare.

"Marce,-" He reached out to touch her but she jerked away.

"I think a day apart will do us some good." She swallowed hard before firming her lips. "Bye, guys. Thanks for looking."

"Bye-bye." Mally waved sadly, knowing his mom was hurting. He looked over her shoulder at his dad as she walked away. "Bye-bye, Daddy."

Mal waved, just as sad.

"Hey, come here." Mike clapped a hand to his shoulder and shook him before bringing him in for a side hug. "She'll calm down. I promise. She's just scared right now."

"I can't believe I lost my own kid."

"He walked off." Artie tried to soothe him.

"Anything could have happened. He could have tried to cross the street or that man could have been the wrong one to run into. Anything could have happened…"

Puck understood. He hadn't lost his own children -yet- -outside- but he knew where Mal was coming from. "Let's just get some tacos. Stay out all day and she'll be glad to see you when you come home."

Mal sorely hoped so.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Laura hugged Marcy. "How are you?!"

"A little rattled." Marcy admitted. "I have never been good at planning outings, you know that."

"Relax. Everything will go right. I promise."

"Tia Lay!" The twins ran into the kitchen.

Laura bent to hug and kiss them. "How are my babies?!"

"We two!" They shouted.

"I know! How does it feel to be two whole years old?"

"Good!"

"Yay! Is that what you're wearing to your party?"

"Yeah!" Both twins showed off their outfits. Both were wearing old west inspired clothing in their favorite colors.

"You look so good!" Laura pinched their cheeks.

"Mommy, party?" Mickey went to her mother and laid her cheek against her leg.

"In a little bit, baby. Go play while I finish up here." Marcy told her.

Mickey ran out while Mally stared at her.

"Go play."

He walked out.

"How's he been since last week?" Laura asked as she climbed into a stool at the island.

"He's been a little quiet. I tried to impress upon him the seriousness of what he did without scaring him but I think the distance between me and Mal scares him more."

"Distance? Mikey said you were angry. It's understandable. My baby's not even here yet but if Marc lost him, I'd lose my mind."

"It wasn't his fault. Mally walked off. It could have happened to anyone. It could have happened to me. I was just so scared, I snapped on him. Like he wasn't scared himself. I made it him vs. me when it should have been us vs. the world. I was wrong."

Laura blinked, completely blown away. "Sweetie, no one would blame you. You're a mother. You just knew your child was missing. It's understandable to freak out."

Marcy said nothing as she opened another bag of apples.

"Have you talked to Mal?"

"Not much. I'm completely embarrassed and ashamed. I don't know what to say to him."

"Just start with the truth."

 ** _M-A-P_**

The party was in full swing. Kids were running all over, screaming and having a good time and the animals on the farm got to see a bunch of rambunctious toddlers.

"Go tell Marcy this is a great party." Mercedes ordered.

Mike narrowed his eyes. "Why?!"

"Because it's a great party and she should know."

He sighed. "Alright."

"Tank coo, Mikey." She made kissy faces at him.

He kissed her cheek before pulling Quinn's hair and leaving.

Quinn swiped at empty air. "Bad man!"

He laughed on his way over to Marcy.

"He's so silly." Tina loved it.

"I know. That's Mikey." Mercedes waved a hand, unconcerned.

Tina giggled. "This is a great party though. Everyone seems to be having a great time."

"I didn't even know the twins knew so many people." Quinn was proud though. Her niece and nephew were popular.

"I know!" Tina whispered. "Who are all these people?!"

"People they met at the park and various spots around town." Laura came over. "I need your help."

"Hi, Laura!" Mercedes hadn't seen her in a bit. "What do you need our help with?"

"Marcy and Mal. She's too afraid to talk to him and he's avoiding her."

"Marcy; afraid?" Tina lifted a brow.

"Yes, Tina. Marcy gets afraid, too."

Tina grimaced. "If people like her get afraid, there's no hope for the rest of us."

Laura's lips twitched.

"Why is she afraid to talk to Mal?" Mercedes wanted to know.

"Why's he avoiding her?" Quinn added.

"Because of the losing Mally thing. She wants to apologize but she won't seek him out. He won't talk to her. I tried to get him to go over there but he won't budge. I think he still blames himself." Laura imparted wisdom.

Mercedes cooed. "My poor baby. I'll get him to go talk to her."

"Just don't baby him. You know how he gets."

"I won't!" Mercedes groused before going over to Mal. "Hi."

"Hey." Mal tore his gaze away from his children momentarily. Very momentarily.

"This is a great party."

"Marce did everything."

"I'm sure you helped. When we drove up, you were unpacking the car."

"That was nothing."

"Stop belittling yourself. I know you feel responsible for Mally walking away but-"

"Mercy, I don't want to talk about this with you."

"Then will you talk about it with your wife?"

"No. She's still- what? She's not- we're not married."

"Yet." Mercedes finished. "But you will be. But you have to talk to get to that point. Go over there and talk to her."

"Mercy,-"

"Go!" She stabbed her finger in Marcy's direction.

He made a face before stalking off.

Mercedes smiled, happy he was going. She skipped over to her sisters.

Marcy was setting up for food (it was to be a picnic) when she felt someone behind her. She turned around and immediately grew apprehensive.

Mal cleared his throat but didn't say anything.

Marcy couldn't look him in the eye and just stared at her hands in shame before turning to walk away (she had no idea where she was going; she just needed to get away from him).

He reached for her. "Wait!"

She stopped, half facing him.

He turned her to face him completely. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm a bad father. I get that you hate me now-"

"What?!" Her eyes widened.

"You hate me because I lost our son." He seemed to fold into himself.

"Mal, I don't know where either of our children are right now. You're not a bad father. You're a wonderful father."

He looked up at her, completely surprised. "What? Aren't you mad at me?"

"Mad at you? You're mad at me."

He blinked, blown away. "Why would I be mad at you?!"

"I completely overreacted. I had a meltdown like he wasn't your son, too and acted like a complete bitch."

"Marcy, you were scared."

"So were you."

He stared at her for a moment before a smile crossed his features. "You care about how you treat me?"

Her eyes widened and she backpedaled. "No!"

"Yes, you do." He wore a smug grin.

"Shut up! No, I don't!"

He wrapped his arms around her.

She pushed at him but he held tight. "Stop touching me!"

"Nope. You love me."

"I am about to punch you." She was dead serious.

"As long as I get to kiss you, I'll wear a black eye."

"Kiss-?! No! Mal, you bet not dare kiss me in front of these people!"

"Nobody's looking."

"How would you know?! You haven't looked to see!"

"Neither have you." He pointed out.

Her eyes widened even further. "Mal, do not."

"Fine." He dropped his arms.

She breathed a sigh of relief. It was cut short when his lips brushed hers quickly. They were gone before she knew it but the fact that he kissed her when she specifically told him not to, raised her blood pressure. "Mal!"

He was already striding away. "No one saw!"

She looked around and saw that most people weren't looking. But her sisters (and Tina) were. She almost threw an apple at his head but heaven help her, he was right. She did care how she came off to him and she didn't actually want to hurt him. "Fathead…"

 ** _M-A-P_**

It was weird to have two main dishes at a birthday party but this one did. As picnic fare, Marcy had ordered sample platters from Subway and Jimmy John's (for variety) and gotten snack bags of chips from the market, the kind with at least 20. She also got platters of cookies and brownies (allowing the twins their first bite of sweets since last year's cookies in December).

She got boxes of juice boxes and pouches (Capri Sun) and paper products. She didn't get candy but she got plastic jewelry and small toys for door prizes. She packed a lot of fruit. Apples (three kinds), oranges (two kinds), bananas, peaches, plums, pears and apricots.

But in tradition of their birthdays (the twins' parents), the twins were getting deep dish pizza.

Marcy stuck the candles into the pie and lit them (Mal was bad with fire) and they all sung _happy birthday_ to the twins, who blew the candles out.

Mal cut the pizza into squares and began passing out pieces. Marcy gave the twins the first pieces and asked if they liked them. They most definitely did.

When all the pizza was gone, Ellen leaned against the table with a smile. "So I guess all the angry faces are over?"

"Angry faces?" Mal was confused.

"You guys were angry with each other."

"Why does everyone think anger is my default?! Anger is my default; okay, nevermind but still, I was not angry with Mal." Marcy spoke quickly.

Ellen blinked as her mind tried to keep up. "Who were you angry with?"

"Myself. I was a witch to him and I didn't know how to apologize."

Ellen made a happy crying face.

"What are you doing? Stop that."

Ellen sniffled.

"Stop!" Marcy didn't like this at all.

Ellen hugged her. "You're sweet!"

"I will lock you out of the house."

"I don't care. You're very sweet."

Marcy sighed deeply. "I gotta be single…"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"Finding food." Mike rumbled as he searched through the cabinets.

"I'm hungry, too." Sam sat at the island.

"I'm only looking for snacks for the game."

"Game? What game?"

"Marc has a game." Mike found refried beans. "Ha!"

"Is it going to be like his other two?" Sam didn't mean to sound like he didn't like those games.

"He said his coach was putting him in if they were ahead enough. The lineup is great and they've been dominating so far but it's only the third game of the season. I hope he gets to play."

"I'll watch with you." Sam didn't have to work.

"Cool." Mike finished warming up the beans and grabbed veggies from the fridge to chop.

"What are you making?"

"A quick layered dip. Get chips from the pantry."

"Tortilla chips?"

"All chips. Where's Blaine?"

"I don't know. He told me earlier but I wasn't paying attention."

Mike shrugged. "If he comes in, cool."

Sam nodded before going to get the chips from the pantry. So far, Mike (and his siblings) liked a wide variety of the salty snacks and bought multiple bags every Sunday.

"Put them in the den. Grab coasters for the beer."

Sam brightened. He truly liked beer but especially Mike's family brand. He'd only gotten to know swill at high school parties but this was amazing. He hurried to take the bags into the den and set out the coasters. He went back to the kitchen. "Done!"

Mike was layering sour cream on top of the dip. "Do you like jalapeños?"

"Uh… sure. Yeah." Sam didn't mind them.

Mike began chopping the spicy pepper and sprinkled it on top. "I'll get the other dip. I wish I had thought to make food before now."

"How long have you known about the game?"

"Forever. We follow sports religiously in our family so this isn't a surprise; plus Marc told us about all their games. I just forgot to plan anything."

"You really think he'll play?"

"I hope so."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mike winced. "That had to hurt."

Sam gaped. "Oh my goodness! I feel sick. I feel sick!"

The wide receiver for the Rams was just bum-rushed and hit the ground _hard_. He was _not_ getting back up.

"Holy crap! he took him _out_!" Mike shook his head. "I wanted Marc to play but not by killing this guy."

Sam let out a low breath. "Well he's getting to play."

On the screen, the coach was filling Marc in while the medics were lifting Number 46 onto a stretcher. Marc ran onto the field and he and his team spoke in a huddle before breaking and lining up.

The game was called back in and there was the snap. The quarterback was given the ball and Number 52 was aiming for him but he dodged out of the way and threw the ball clear across the field into the waiting Marc's arms.

Marc ran to the end-zone dodging any and everybody and spiked the ball in a touchdown.

Mike and Sam cheered.

The rest of the game played out like a symphony. The tension was high and getting higher as the other team (the Detroit Lions) tried to stop Marc but he'd get away every time and catch a perfect spiral from down the field.

"Do you see this?!" Mike stood up.

"It's the last play! It's the last play!" Sam did, too.

"Come on, Marc! You can do it!"

The ball was in play and it changed hands twice before it was given to Number 16. Offense rushed him but he threw the ball, going down in the process.

The ball spiraled all the way down the field. Marc ran and leapt into the air… and caught it! He rolled and climbed to his feet to run the two yards to the end-zone and spiked it, dancing his new signature dance.

The crowd went wild.

Mike and Sam went wild.

The team went wild.

The announcers went wild. "I'll tell you, Gary, this rookie is one to see!"

Mike swiped up his phone and dialed a number. "Did you see that?!"

Screaming came down the line.

Sam wondered who he was talking to.

"I know! I know! That's what I said! I know! Okay, you call her and I'll call them. Okay, bye." Mike hung up and dialed a new number quickly.

"Who-?" Sam started but Mike lifted a finger.

"Are you guys watching?! Yeah, they saw it! She said she's going to call Laura. Yeah, just wait a few minutes. I'm gonna call Dad and Pop and see if they saw. Yeah, okay. I'll be up there later. Okay. Bye, Mercy."

Sam nodded. He must have called Marcy or Mal first and now was talking to Mercedes.

Mike dialed a new number. "Dad! Didja see?! I know! I know! Yeah, they saw. Marce said she was going to call her then Mercy said she was. Okay. Tell Mom I can hear her from here. Okay. Bye."

"Your mom's celebrating?" Sam grinned.

Mike set his phone aside then sat down. "Yeah, she's acting crazy. She's a huge football fan."

"So's my mom. She's completely crazy over Tennessee."

"Moms." Mike chuckled.

"Are you going to call Marc?"

"Tomorrow. I have no idea when he's going to be "off" so I'll just call him when I think it's early enough. He'll be pumped up."

"I can't believe it. Five touchdowns in a row. That was the greatest game I've ever seen in my life."

Mike nodded. "Marc's gonna make history."


	21. Chapter 21

**_Doctor's appointment tomorrow so I'm updating today._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

"This is so exciting!" Mercedes was so excited.

"Mercy, calm down!" Quinn giggled. "You're about to explode!"

"You guys are doing a major interview." Anna was excited, too. "That's so big!"

"It is." Rachel admitted. "You guys are everywhere. It makes sense that _Seventeen_ wants to do an article on you."

"What if you guys become supermodels?" Finn's eyes widened.

Mercedes giggled. "No way, Finn."

"I think you could, Mama." Puck kissed her cheek.

"No!" She blushed and hid her face.

"Stop bein cute."

"I can't stop being cute!"

Quinn cheered. "Yay, Sissy!"

Mercedes beamed.

"I can't believe you said that, Cedes!" Rachel laughed.

"MercyCat, you're naughty." Anna teased.

"No!" Mercedes giggled.

"Tia Me not naughty!" Beth yelled.

"You tell her, baby!"

"Mama know she take after that evil sister she got." Puck's lips twitched.

"Don't talk about my baby!" She hit him.

"Ow! She is evil!"

"I dare you to tell her that." Quinn batted her lashes.

Puck dropped his gaze and eyed his breakfast plate fearfully.

"I thought so."

"That just proves how scary she is." Finn gulped, taking up for his best friend.

"I'm telling her you called her scary."

"No! She gets mad when we say that!"

"Please don't have her hurt Finn." Rachel begged.

"Well I do love him." Quinn supposed.

Mercedes checked the time. "Ooh, Lucy! It's time for us to go! Noah, make sure when you take Beth and Rae to their playdates, you do not leave! They're at different times for a reason!"

"Mama, I got it!" Puck got over his terror to bluster. "Gimme a kiss!"

She kissed him before kissing Anna and Raven. She kissed Beth quickly.

Quinn kissed Rachel and Finn before kissing Beth and Raven. "Bye, guys!"

"Bye!" Mercedes took her arm and led her out as everyone else said their farewells.

The duo went to put on their shoes at the door then collected their things before leaving the apartment. They saw Marcy about to get on the elevator. "Hey!"

She stood in the middle of the opening. "Hurry up!"

They ran down the hall and joined her. "Hi."

She nodded and pressed the button for 5.

"Aren't you excited?" Quinn asked.

"I hate interviews." Marcy sulked.

"Come on! This has to be great! There's no movie to promote so you don't have to worry about saying the wrong thing! It's just about us!"

"Yeah and what the hell is this chick gonna ask?"

Quinn gave her screw face. "You suck the fun out of everything."

"Who does cuz it's not my twin!" Karou's voice was the first thing they heard as the doors opened.

Marcy pulled her inside. "She's about to get suckerpunched. I'm fun incarnate!"

"Damn straight, Cuz!" Karou punched for the lobby. "We get the party started."

"Oh please! You clear the party out!" Quinn snapped. "You're both bad!"

"I'm sorry? Who's your baby daddy? Is it your boyfriend?" Marcy put on a thinking face.

Quinn screamed in frustration as Karou laughed. Mercedes wrapped her arms around the blonde. "You get on my nerves!"

Marcy stuck her tongue out.

"She's got you there, Uptight!" Karou laughed.

Quinn swiped at her but Mercedes held her back.

"Oh! The kitty wants to play?"

"Rou? Don't make it weird." Marcy murmured.

Karou stilled. "Fine. But she's eaten up inside and we all know it."

Quinn swiped at her again.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Here's your first looks." Samantha King took the four through their first outfits of the day. "We're going to get you against the grey background first and together then one at a time in the same clothes before we switch. We'll do that for the first few changes then you can break for your interview. Sound good?"

The girls nodded and gave affirmative answers.

"Good. Let's go." Sam walked off.

The girls got ready then sat through hair and makeup before going in front of the camera. Sam posed them the way she wanted then had the photographer take photos.

The girls got into the groove and made the shoot go even better. They went through three changes before they were able to put on robes and get food from crafty.

Carla Jenkins was excited to sit down with them. "Do you mind if I record this?"

"Not at all." Mercedes shook her hand. "How are you?"

"I'm great." Carla was surprised by her warmth. "You're so nice."

"Aww! Thank you! I bet you're really nice."

Carla smiled before squealing a bit. "I can't believe I'm sitting down with America's new it-girls!"

"We're it-girls?" Marcy didn't say it with gratitude.

"Of course! You exploded on the scene overnight. You've done spreads and catwalks and a lot of ad work. You four are the best modeling has to offer right now."

"We've been modeling for a very long time." Quinn said. "We've been doing it since we were toddlers."

"Really?!" Carla was all ears.

"Yes. We've always been in things so it was a no brainer to continue as adults."

"What was your first ad?"

"I think it was Baby Gap."

Mercedes and Marcy laughed at the fuzzy memory.

"So it's all you've ever wanted to be is models?" Carla asked.

"No, we've had different dreams. I certainly never thought modeling would be my final career but MercyCat always wanted to sing, MarcAn wanted to dance and Karou wanted to act. I just wanted to rule the world." Quinn smiled.

Carla laughed. "Do you think a career in modeling will lead to these other things?"

"I can always hope but I don't plan on it." Mercedes shook her head.

"We have different plans to achieve our dreams but we're not using modeling as a gateway." Karou added.

"Have you been noticed on the street yet?" Carla really wanted to know.

They all looked towards Marcy, who blushed. "Yeah."

"What happened?"

"This little girl recognized me from a candy ad and wanted me to give her candy. Her mother recognized me, too and screamed so loudly, the boy putting up the orange display fell face first into the pyramid and all the oranges fell. A woman's cart overturned into a cube of cans, which also fell. It was a giant mess. I ended up buying the kid candy, just so her mother would just stop apologizing."

Carla laughed loudly. "Oh no!"

"Yep."

"What about you guys?"

"We got recognized in class." Mercedes pointed to herself and Quinn. "We were supposed to be listening to a lecture and the people behind us kept whispering then they wanted us to sign their magazines."

"That had to be cool. How do you stay grounded?"

"It's a job. It's an amazing job but it is a job." Marcy said. "Other people can, will and have done as good a job as me at this job so I can't get a big head about it."

"Besides, if we concentrate on just ourselves, we can't help other people and we were always taught the importance of giving back." Mercedes added.

"That's such a beautiful way of thinking. Now I heard you're all related." Carla nodded.

"We're sisters." Quinn pointed to herself and her sisters. "And Karou is our cousin."

"You're sisters?" Carla looked skeptical.

"Yes, ma'am." Mercedes nodded.

"So it's the three of you-?"

"No, there's eight of us."

"Eight?!"

"Laura and Marc are the oldest." Marcy said. "You might recognize Marc by the last two Rams games he's played in."

"Wait! MarcD Jones is your brother?!"

"Yes, he is." Quinn nodded proudly.

"Who else is there?"

"Our big brother, Mike." Mercedes recounted. "He's going to be a big shot dancer one day."

"Then it's us three." Marcy hooked a thumb to indicate them all.

"Then it's Mal, who's a brilliant photographer." Quinn smiled, still flowing with pride.

"And then there's Maddie. If anyone is going to make a career out of modeling, it's her."

"Wow!" Carla blew out a breath before clapping eyes on Karou. "What about you?"

"There's four of us but my siblings are back in Japan." Karou explained. "I have an older brother and my younger siblings are twins, Karan and Kari."

"What about your older brother?"

"Kerani? He's a stock broker."

"Oh wow. Where do you guys draw inspiration from?"

"Mostly our family." Mercedes said. "We're very family oriented."

"Does this family include boyfriends?" Carla asked slyly.

The girls giggled.

"I think that's a yes! Dish!"

"We have girlfriends." Marcy spoke softly.

Carla's face was a study in shock.

"I think you've broke her." Quinn whispered.

"Oops…" Marcy watched her carefully.

"So you're all gay?" Carla sputtered.

"None of us are gay."

"But you said you have girlfriends though?"

"Rou and I are bisexual, MercyCat is pansexual and Quinn is mostly straight. She just happened to fall in love with a girl."

Carla nodded. "Oh wow. How does it feel to be a part of that community and be in the limelight?"

"Actually the community doesn't accept us wholeheartedly."

"Really? Why?"

"We're bi. Bis aren't taken seriously in either community. Pan is a new label but they're not taken seriously either. We're often told to pick a side."

"That's awful. Have any of you ever been with men? Romantically?"

"Are you asking if we've ever had sex with a man?"

"No!" Carla blushed.

"We all have boyfriends, too."

"Wha- what?"

"We're in thruples." Marcy enunciated.

"Thruples? That's-?"

"Three way couples."

"My goodness! How do you juggle two relationships?"

"It's actually four relationships. My relationship with her, my relationship with him, their relationship with each other and all of our relationship together."

"That's a lot. How do you maintain it?"

Marcy looked at Mercedes. She was sick of talking.

Mercedes went next. "It's just like any other relationship. You have to communicate and listen and be honest. You have to be supportive and really want to make it work."

"Can I get any names?" Carla hoped.

"My boyfriend is Finn Hudson and my girlfriend is Rachel Berry, who's playing Fanny Brice in next week's premiere of _Funny Girl_ on Broadway." Quinn boasted.

"My boyfriend is Puck Puckerman and my girlfriend is Anna Picos." Mercedes announced.

"My boyfriend is Mal Chang, who works for Antoll Anelli, and my girlfriend is Ellen Majors." Marcy ran her thumb over her index nail.

"My boyfriend is Arnold Abrams and my girlfriend is Yuria Parker." Karou bragged.

"Now onto some fun questions." Carla smiled. "What's your favorite foods?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Anna wrestled with Raven. "Come on, sweetie! Put your socks on!"

Raven kicked her feet.

Anna sighed. "Okay, forget it. You'll have cold feet and catch a cold and Mama will hate me."

Raven stared at her before sticking her feet out.

Anna brightened and hurried to put the socks on the infant. She kissed her cheek repeatedly. "Thank you, sweet girl!"

The doorbell rang and Anna thought it could have been Ellen. Both freshmen were taking their daughters to see Marcy at a photo op scheduled during the week.

Usually Anna had class but she'd taken it off so she could take Raven to the doctor later. All of the little girl's parents would have taken her but both Mercedes and Puck had quizzes they couldn't miss (but totally would have had it been serious).

Anna picked up Raven and strode to the front door. She opened it. "Did you lose your key?"

"No, I don't have one."

Anna gaped and almost dropped Raven. It wasn't Ellen who stood there but her own father, Cole Picos. "D-daddy?"

"Hello, Anna." He drank her in before clapping eyes on the baby, who stared back. "Is this her? Is this your daughter?"

Anna's eyes widened. Her father was admitting Raven was hers? She nodded dumbly.

"Can I see her?"

Anna was blown away. "Come- come in."

Cole moved to come inside.

She shut the door behind him. "Shoes."

"Shoes?" He looked down.

"We don't wear shoes in the house."

"Oh." He toed off his loafers.

She led him to the front room and took a seat. She was wildly uncomfortable. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Not yet." He stared at the baby.

Anna sat there for a moment, in shock, before she ruffled herself. "This is Rae. She's 10 months. She can feed herself and likes having her hair brushed."

"She has a lot of it." He swallowed thickly. "Can I hold her?"

"Um… sure." Anna handed Raven over.

Raven took one look at this man and began crying.

"Oh, Rae!" Anna reached to take her back but Cole held her off.

"I know how to calm a baby. I used to soothe you." He rocked her gently. "Where's her pacifier?"

Anna got up to find one. She came back and Raven was quiet. "How'd you do that?"

Cole took the binky and stuffed it in Raven's mouth. She blinked before closing her eyes.

"You're really good at this."

He lifted a shoulder as he continued to rock Raven. "It never really leaves you."

She sat across from him. "What are you doing here?"

His eyes shifted before he looked up. "I'm here to apologize."

"Apologize? For what?"

"For not thinking of you. For not putting you first. When we found out your news, I reacted terribly. I thought about how you were so young and how it could have been you. I didn't want your life to be so hard.

But I was wrong. I should have been there, helping you through it instead of pulling you away from who you love. I was so wrong. I hope you can forgive me."

"Daddy…" Anna didn't know what to say and then she burst into tears.

Cole got up and went to envelope her awkwardly in a hug while trying not to squish Raven. "I'm sorry. I did this. It didn't feel right to make you cry last year but I stood by my decision, thinking you'd get over it.

But you didn't. I saw you getting sadder and sadder but I was convinced you'd snap out of it. But you didn't. And then you left. I was devastated. I knew you'd be back but then you weren't. I had to face the facts that I had to be a man and let you know you were right.

I didn't even know where to look at first. I had no idea where you were but I ran into Mrs. Chang at the dry cleaners and she gushed about how well you all were doing.

I told her I'd forgotten your address and she gave it to me. For an attorney, she's massively trusting. I thought about sending you a letter but I wasn't sure you'd read it. Besides, this is something to do in person."

"What about Mom?" Anna asked.

Cole made a face. "She will come around."

"She's still angry?" It was barely a question.

"She will get over it. When you all go home for the holidays, I want you to come home to us. I love you, Anna. I don't want you to ever think I don't."

Anna sniffled. "I love you, too Daddy."

"Anna?! Are you here?!" Ellen's voice called out.

Anna cleared her throat. "I'm in the living room!"

Ellen came into the room carrying Mickey. "Hey. Hi, Mr. Picos."

"Hello, Ellen." Cole stood.

"Hi, Ellen." Anna stood, too. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." Ellen drew out the word. "Are you?"

"Our stuff is by the door. I'll meet you there."

"Okay." Ellen eyeballed both before tickling Mickey. "Come on, Mickey! Let's go wait by the door!"

"Door!" Mickey called out.

Ellen left.

"You're on your way out?" Cole asked.

"Marcy has this photo thing. We were going to see her before Rae's doctor appointment." Anna shrugged lightly before taking a dozing but not fully asleep Raven from him.

"Photo thing?"

"It's not exactly a photo-shoot but they'll take pictures of her there. I don't understand it but it's supposed to be easy."

He nodded.

"Would you like to come with us?"

He brightened. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Alright. I'd love to come."

Anna smiled. She was going to have her father back in her life. It was what she'd wanted since he started drifting away from her in high school. Everything felt right now. "Let's go."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"You are just happy, aren't you?" Marcy raised a brow.

"Yup!" Mal beamed.

Ellen giggled. "Are you that unhappy, Marcy?"

"I don't know how you two keep talking me into going outside." Marcy groused.

"Because you really want to be outside anyway?"

"That's not it."

Mal laughed. "Come on. This is my birthday dinner. Don't make that pouty face or else someone's gonna think I'm torturing you."

"I don't care what other people think. I am being tortured." Marcy frowned.

"Do you really want to go? We can go."

Marcy waved him to sit before he even finished speaking. "Calm down. I'll get over it."

"With a smile?"

"Don't push it."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Rachel was so nervous. She knew she'd driven everyone crazy with how freaked out she was but the girls had pried her out of bed and Finn had given her one of his famous pep talks.

Now she was backstage in her first costume of the night with her friends and parents out in the audience along with every major newspaper in the tri-state area.

She took a deep breath. She could do this. She could do this. She couldn't do this.

The lights went down and the music started. Holy crap! the play was starting! She could feel herself moving but she might as well had been in a tunnel.

She stared out into the bright lights and gulped. Some way, somehow she found Finn and Quinn in the crowd. Both were beaming. Her mouth opened in an excited breath as if she were going to call out to them and her voice raged out of her.

Before Rachel knew it, she was into the song, pouring her heart and soul into it. Euphoria filled her and made her lightheaded but she couldn't stop singing if she tried.

And just like that, everything clicked into place. Her life was complete.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Shue." Rachel said again.

"I wouldn't have missed it, Rachel. I always knew you'd achieve your dreams." Mr. Shue smiled.

"Come on, Rach!" Mercedes ran into the kitchen. "We're gonna go out and buy a paper to see reviews! It's been long enough!"

Rachel accidentally took a deep breath in a panic. "I don't know."

"Come on, girl!" Mercedes shook her. "You were amazing! Everyone's going to love you! I promise!"

Rachel took her hand. "Thank you so much, Cedes."

"Of course." Mercedes tucked hair before the younger girl's ear.

Mr. Shue's phone rang. "I'll be there in just a few."

"Okay, we'll gather everyone together and wait in the lobby." The two left.

Mr. Shue answered his phone. "Hello?"

It was his pregnant wife. "Will?! It's time!"

"Time? Time for wha-? You're in labor?! You're in labor!"

"Yes! Come home! I'll try to wait for you but it hurts so much!"

"I'll be right there! Hold on, honey! I'm coming!" He hung up, excited beyond measure. He ran out and almost left the apartment without his shoes.

He hurried to stuff his socked feet into his shoes then locked the bottom lock on the door before running to the elevator.

He could hardly wait for it to come before he jumped on and rode to the lobby. His kids were standing in a giant group, waiting for him.

"Emma's in labor!" He shouted.

They began screaming and shouting at him.

"I have to go! I have to go! But Rachel, I am so proud of you! I'm proud of all of you! I wish I could stay-!"

"Go, Mr. Shue!" Finn waved him on. "We'll see you soon! Go have your baby!"

Mr. Shue was humbled by his kids but hurried to hail a cab to take him to his hotel then the train station.

The group waved him off before setting down the street to find the first vendor that sold newspaper.


	22. Chapter 22

"What are we doing here?" Mike was put out.

Puck looked around Mike's den at the surrounding men. "Who's sick of Mini Mama pranking them?"

Mike and Mal laughed.

"How is this funny?!"

"Your best bet is to take it and let her do her." Mal advised.

"She's gotten you!"

"I know. _I know_." That last part was said darkly before he forced cheer back into his tone. "But it's kid stuff. She's not trying to hurt anybody."

"She hurt me!" Sam was still upset by it, too.

Mal chuckled. "What are you going to do?"

"We could prank her back!" Puck spat.

Mike grimaced. "Nope. Count me out."

"Come on! Are you scared of your little sister?"

"Marcy is brutal. These pranks she's done is just because Halloween is coming up and she's restless. She's had a messed up year and wants to let loose. But if you prank her back, you're telling her that the game is real and for her to bring her A game."

Finn gulped.

"If I were you, I'd leave her alone and let her keep putting shaving cream on your face." Mal smirked as Blaine pouted.

"Let's go see if Mercy's cooking." Mike suggested.

"Alright. Marce is still being extremely picky about when she wants to cook."

"You could cook." Mike pointed out as they walked out.

Mal gave him screw face.

"Man, forget them!" Puck bit off when they couldn't hear them anymore. "I say we pay her mean self back!"

"I'm in!" Artie was angry himself. "She got me at my baby shower! My _baby shower_!"

Blaine nodded. "That was kind of unfair."

"Say it, Bowties! It was hurtful!" Puck stabbed a finger in his direction. "We gotta think of something. Something big!"

"I don't know." Sam was unsure. "She _terrifies_ me."

"Me too." Finn chewed on his thumb.

"We just gotta think of something really big to freak her out." Puck assured them. "Something she can't come back from."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mal hung up his phone and looked at the bathroom in trepidation. This would not go well…

He bit the bullet and got up to go to the bathroom. He opened the door and saw Marcy washing her face. There was bits of food particles from the homemade scrub still on her face but it let him know she was near the end.

"Hey? What are you doing up?" She scrubbed the rest off.

"I got a phone call." He leaned against the wall.

She went to grab her shower cap and put her hair in a loose bun before slipping it on. "Okay."

"I don't want to ruin the mood you're in-"

"Oh no. Who did what?"

"Momma Rose." He waited, gauging her reaction closely.

Her eyes widened before narrowing. She went about readying the shower. "What about her?"

He came closer when she stepped inside and threw her PJs on the floor. "She wants to see us."

She was quiet as she lathered up.

He eyed her lustfully before eyeing her taunt face. "What are you thinking?"

She shrugged jerkily. "Who cares what she wants?"

"She's got permission from the courts to see you."

"I don't care what any judge says. I'm a grown woman. I see who I want to see."

Mal took a deep breath. "Okay."

She stared at the water running down her body before asking, "Are- are you gonna go?"

"I could. See what she wants and come back to tell you. If you want."

Her lips moved soundlessly before she spoke up. "Only if you want to."

"I'll do whatever makes you happy."

She moved in a flurry of movement, pulling him inside the shower by his pyjama pants. She fused her mouth to his and closed the shower door, pushing him against the wall.

He kissed her back and touched her all over, hoping his touch alone could soothe the aches in her heart.

And for a while, it did.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Is she going?" Mercedes asked.

"What's he saying?" Quinn demanded in a harsh whisper.

Mercedes waved her away and tried to listen closely. "Uh huh. Uh huh. Okay. Yeah, we can go. Call her back and tell her we'll be there Saturday. Yeah, I know. Okay. Bye."

"What'd he say? What'd he say?" Quinn begged.

"If she doesn't want to see me, what makes you think she wants to see her?" Mercedes gave her a look as she set her phone aside.

Quinn pouted.

"I'm sorry, Sissy. This is all just a mess. Mal said he's going to call her and set it up for Saturday. I gotta call Mikey and tell him the plan."

"This is all just so messed up." Quinn shook her head. "What could she possibly have to say after all this time?"

"I don't know but I want to hear it. It better be something good." Mercedes rolled her eyes before shushing her sister.

Puck and Finn walked into the room. "Hey!"

"Hey." The girls spoke.

"What's going on?" Finn asked.

"Nothing." Quinn lied without batting a lash. "Are you hungry?"

"Are you going to cook?" Puck wanted to make sure he was hearing the right thing.

"No!" She scowled. "There's food in the fridge and Mercy's standing right here!"

Mercedes pulled a long suffering look. "I am standing here, Lucy."

"I'm trying to be nice. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Oh, Lucy."

Quinn stuck her bottom lip out. "Let's find everyone else and I'll cook."

"No, you won't." Mercedes wasn't fooled. "But that's alright. I can cook."

"You're so much better than I am!" Quinn followed her out.

Puck made sure they were gone. "Okay, I've been thinking about this and I think I finally know what to do about Mini Mama."

"What?" Finn sat at the table.

Puck grabbed a soda from the fridge to give to him before going back for another for himself. "Clowns."

"Clowns?" Finn popped the top.

"Yeah. She keeps saying how they're not human so she must not like them. If she's scared of clowns, we can get her good."

"How? Like what do we do?"

Puck frowned. "I'm not sure."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"We tape her."

"Tape her?" Finn, Sam, Blaine and Arnold asked.

"Like duct tape?" Puck was confused, too.

"No." Artie looked at them like they were stupid. " _Videotape_ her. We can post it online. We hire a clown to scare her and film the whole thing."

"Are you sure about this?" Arnold asked. "I'm not in the habit of scaring girls."

"She's not a girl. She's a demon." Puck spat. "She got me again!"

"Me too." Sam, Blaine and Finn murmured quietly.

"She's never done a thing to me." Arnold shrugged.

"Probably because you live in a dorm." Artie was sure. "The girl is a monster. We gotta stop her."

"Then why aren't her brothers, Matt or Jude helping?"

"Because they're all scared of her! But we're not!"

"We're not?" Sam and Finn felt like he was lying on them.

"We're not!"

"It's not a matter of being afraid of her." Blaine sighed. "Are we really willing to stoop to her level?"

"Yes!" Puck and Artie shouted.

He groaned. "Fine! But if Mike and Mal are right about her revenge, I'm blaming you and switching to her side!"

Puck waved him away, confident it wouldn't come to that. "Now Mama said the rest of them are going somewhere on Saturday for a few hours so we can do it then. Here's what I'm thinking…"

M-A-P

"Are you ready for this?" Mike asked Mercedes as he squeezed her fingers.

She blew out a breath. "I'm not sure."

"We can take as long as you need." Quinn offered.

"We don't even have to go in." Mal swore.

Mercedes smiled. "Thanks, you guys. But we do. We have to see what's going on. Come on."

The four went inside the hotel and to the elevator. They rode it up to the correct floor then walked around trying to find the correct room.

Mike knocked on the door.

The door opened and there Rose was. She smiled at them tentatively. "Come in. Come in."

They walked inside.

She led them to a set of chairs. "Please sit. Would you like something to drink?"

They were going to refuse when they all realized they were parched. "Yes."

"I can order room service. What would you like?"

"Bourbon." Mal muttered.

"It's eleven in the morning." She heard him.

"We'll take soda." Mike said.

"Soda?!"

"We drink soda now." Mercedes said firmly.

Rose cleared her throat. "You're adults. It's time, I suppose. I hope you don't drink too much."

"Momma Rose." Quinn rebuked.

"I know, I know. You're grown now. You don't want to listen to your mother."

All four groaned. Italian guilt at its finest. "Momma!"

"Fine. I'll order your soda." Rose went to the phone and dialed the number. "What kind?"

They each told which one they'd come to prefer.

She ordered it and asked for tea and a fruit and veggie tray. They all sat in silence until room service arrived. Rose popped up to open the door.

A bellboy brought in the cart and Rose tipped him before he left.

"Here we go." Rose passed out items. They began drinking and munching in silence.

Mercedes bit into a strawberry before removing the rest of it from her lips. She chewed quickly before blurting out, "Momma, what's going on?!"

"What do you mean, baby?" Rose sipped her tea.

"You know what I mean, Momma. Why did you call us down here? What's going on?"

Rose set aside her cup and took a deep breath. "As you know, there's only a year left on the restraining order."

"Yes?"

"Well I want to move here."

"Move here?!"

"Yes. I want to be closer to you all and I need to repair my relationship with you-"

"Why don't you say you want to make Marcy forgive you?"

"Mercy?!" Rose gasped.

"Momma, you can't think that flying around her is going to get her to thaw. Marcy doesn't work that way and you used to know that!"

Quinn wrapped her arms around Mercedes. "Momma Rose, she needs time and space. Don't you know that?"

"That's what the year's for. She'll have a year to be angry and then she'll get over it." Rose spoke quickly. "She has to."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Hey, Marcy." Sam smiled shyly.

"Hey, Samson." Marcy realized she was just staring out of the window. She frowned and came over to him. "What's up?"

"Are you okay? You look out of it."

"Yeah, I'm fine." She was not fine. She was worrying about the meeting with her mother.

"Are you sure? The guys wanted you to come down-"

"Yeah, I'll do it." Anything to keep her from going crazy. She knelt by the twins. "Mommy's going away for a little bit but I'll be back before you know it. Okay?"

The twins knew she was upset but didn't know why but they'd come to expect it from their mother. That was just how she was. They hugged her and told her they loved her.

She kissed them back and repeated their declarations before straightening. "Where are the guys anyway?"

"In the lobby." Sam was having second thoughts. Obviously she was upset about something and seeing her with her kids reminded him that there was more to her than brutal prankster.

"Let's go." She took his hand and led him out.

He looked down at their entwined fingers in mild shock then looked up at her. He made a strangled sound low in his throat.

She looked back at him as they made it to the front door. "What?"

He squeezed her fingers.

She realized she'd taken his hand. She looked down at them briefly before searching his face. "I'm sorry. I guess I need it today. Is it okay?"

He opened his mouth to call this whole thing off but his cell rang. He checked it. It was texts from Puck telling him to hurry up and not to chicken out. He used foul language and hurt the blond's feelings. "Yeah, it's fine."

"Thanks, Sam." Marcy slipped on her shoes and waited for him to do the same. She opened the door and tugged him out, her keys as always in her pocket (when she had them [pockets, not her keys]).

They held hands all the way to the elevator and while waiting on the lift. They held hands all during the ride to the lobby, where Sam once again tried to tell her.

He opened his mouth when she let him go. He was going to switch gears and ask her why but she visibly composed herself. Did she do that every time she met up with them? With anyone?

He followed her out, worried about his friend, mouth open to warn her but Puck clapped him on the back, nearly knocking him over. "It's about time! We thought you didn't want to come!"

"Why would I miss seeing your faces?" Marcy cupped Finn's chin.

Finn blushed. "I- we- uh-"

"Come here, Boo Thang!" Artie demanded. She went to him and he pulled her into a hug. "What you been up to today?"

"Nothing much. You flew to the wind after breakfast, bro. Where'd you go?" She asked.

"I had to catch up with my cuz."

"Hello, Arnold. How are you?"

Arnold was quiet, debating on spilling the beans.

Artie hit his cousin's leg when he remained quiet. "BT wants to know how you are!"

"Ow! I'm fine!" Arnold bent to hold his leg.

"Are you guys okay?" Marcy was concerned. Was it her or was everyone on edge? Maybe she should stop being so selfish and pay more attention to other people and what they were going through?

"We're fine, Mini Mama." Puck assured her. "We just wanna get you on camera."

"Nope." She shook her head.

"Wouldja just listen?"

She set her hands on her hips. "Why?"

"It's nothing dirty!" Finn promised.

"Unless you wanna do that." Artie hurried to put in.

Marcy sent him a glare.

"Artie had the idea to get people's opinion on this past summer." Blaine spoke up. "He wanted yours because you're in the public eye and if people know you're in it, they'll watch it. It's for school."

"Oh." That changed everything. "Okay. Sure."

"Really?" Sam blurted.

Puck discreetly hit him.

"Yeah." Marcy nodded. "It's for school."

"Come right here." Artie pointed to a spot right in front of him.

She stepped where he wanted, not too close, not too far away.

"Okay, tell me what your summer was filled with." He turned on the camera.

"Um… my summer was filled with a lot of highs." She tried to think past all the lows.

Puck stealthily waved a special guest into view. Marcy was still describing her summer as the clown got behind her.

Fortune depends on who you asked but let's just say fortunately Marcy felt something behind her and moved. She was mid sentence when she realized it was a clown and she _freaked_. _out_.

She began screaming bloody murder before bursting into tears and to the shock of the boys, punched the clown in his big red nose. And she didn't stop there.

Her fight or flight instincts kicked in and she fought. The performer had no defense against this wild child, who screamed, cried and hit him.

Puck and Artie were laughing uproariously while the other four felt this was too far.

Security swept the area but didn't exactly know what to do. She was a tenant and she was crying, screaming, begging for help. So they called for backup while trying to calm her down.

Somehow she'd gotten the clown on the ground and sat on top of him, wailing on him and at him. Puck and Artie thought it was the greatest thing ever and were pointing to the image on the camera.

A piercing whistle had everyone but Marcy and Toddles the Clown looking over. It was Mike. "What is going on here?!"

Mal strode forward and dragged Marcy off the clown. She fought him momentarily, not knowing who he was. He hugged her anyway and his smell drifted into her subconscious.

She wrapped her limbs around him and sobbing, tried to tell him her ordeal.

"It's okay. It's okay." He brushed her hair back from her wet face and kissed her. "You're safe."

"What's going on?" Mercedes repeated Mike's question.

"We did a bad thing." Sam bowed his head.

"Sir, please take her upstairs." A security guard told Mal.

"No problem." Mal adjusted his stance and slowly walked with Marcy in his arms to the lift. He got on and they went upstairs.

Mercedes walked to Puck, who wouldn't meet her gaze. "What'd you do?"

He looked away.

"Blainey?"

Blaine spilled everything. "We were sick of her playing pranks on us so we decided to get her back and we know she doesn't like clowns so…-"

"It's not that she doesn't like clowns." Quinn glared at Finn. "She's terrified of them!"

He flinched. "I'm sorry! We didn't know! We just thought she'd be a little scared and-!"

"And what?!" Mike snapped. "She'd clap you on the back and say you did a great job and that she didn't want to prank you any more?!"

"It sounds stupid when you say it." Sam pouted.

"Because it's stupid! I told you to let her just keep pranking you! It was never going to go past whip cream in your hand but you couldn't handle kindergarten pranks?! Really?! What do you think is going to happen now?!"

"She's going to prank us back?" Finn worried.

"It won't even feel like a prank! It'll feel like torture! She doesn't have a sense of humor! That's why we don't prank her back! This would have been over next week but now you've turned this into WWIII! Why?! Why would you do that?!"

"Mike,-" Sam tried.

"I don't get you guys. I really don't. You say you want to be close but you pull this bull?" Mike gave up.

"What were you thinking?" Mercedes asked but really was talking to Puck.

"It was funny." Puck frowned at the floor.

"It's funny that she's crying? It's funny that she's scared? Oh, it's funny that she's going to have more nightmares? That must be it."

"Mama,-"

"I can't believe you, Noah. You're always talking about how she's your hero and stuff but obviously you don't really care about her."

"Mama,-!" He grabbed her hand when she turned away from him.

She snatched her hand back. "I don't forgive you for this. I'm already on shaky ground with her and now this? No. You were wrong. All of you were wrong. Until she says she forgives you, I won't. That means you're cut off."

"No lovin?" He sweatdropped.

"No nothing. I'm not feeding you, I'm not touching you, I'm not washing your clothes. You're lucky if I talk to you, which I'm not sure I will be."

"Mama, I'm sorry."

"Now that you see no one thinks it's funny but you."

He was caught.

"I'm surprised at all of you. Artie, you cry about your Boo Thang all the time but you treat her like this? I'm telling Britt and Tana and we'll see if you still think it's funny. Arnold, what has Marcy ever done to you? She's Karou's best friend and favorite cousin, not to mention Yuria's best friend. Was it worth it?"

Both boys bowed their heads in shame.

"As for you two-" She pointed to Sam and Blaine.

"I tried to tell her the truth!" Sam said quickly.

"What'd she say?"

"Nothing." He said slowly.

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't actually get to say anything… Puck threatened me!"

"You let someone talk you into doing wrong? Intent means nothing. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. You didn't do anything. You didn't tell her the truth so you're worse than them."

He hung his head.

"Blaine, you're supposed to be above all this madness. You're supposed to see her as a lady."

Blaine swallowed thickly, regret first and foremost on his mind.

"How do you think Kurt's going to feel?"

"No!"

"Yes! He loves Marcy, _actually_ loves Marcy!"

"I love her, too."

"No, you don't."

"You can't." Quinn pushed a sad Finn away from her. "None of you can claim to love somebody you treat so horribly. Yeah, she pranked you but so what? You actively tried to scar her. That's not right."

"Quinn,-" Finn started.

"No, Finn. I'm with Mercy. I'm on strike. And I think Rachel and Anna will be once they hear what you did."

"It was supposed to be fun…"

Loud scuffling was heard as the lobby filled. "Police! Hands up!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mal hugged Marcy tightly and let her cry. "It's okay. Sometimes you just need to cry."

Marcy wished she would stop crying and shaking but every time she thought she could stop, she'd see the clown's face again and she'd get so freaked out again.

Mal heard the doorbell ring but didn't leave Marcy. Whomever it was could stay on the outside.

Some time later, Santana knocked on their door before sticking her head in. "Hey? The police are here."

"What?" Mal lifted his head from the pillow. "Why?"

Santana shrugged. "The twins and the dogs are with him. Have they never seen a cop before?"

"Not since they were younger." Mal sat up. "Thanks, Santana. We'll be right down."

"Okay." She eyeballed the still crying Marcy, wondering just what was going on but she left.

Mal climbed out of the bed and pulled Marcy out. "Come on, baby. You can do this."

She didn't care about talking to a cop. She just wanted him. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly.

Part of him really liked this. The fact that only he seemed to be able to give her comfort. He knew logically their family could comfort her, especially their kids but at the moment, it felt like him and him alone and that made him feel ten feet tall.

She rubbed her face against his shirt and sniffled loudly.

He snapped back to reality and began moving out the door. He took them downstairs to the front door.

The policeman was there alright. Mickey was talking to him a mile a minute while Mally and Secret eyed him darkly. The puppies (including Ecru) were nipping at his shoes. For once Sully was being his version of good. He just sat there.

Mal whistled sharply. Everything turned to him. "Guys, go play. Take the dogs with you."

"But Daddy,!" Mickey protested.

"Out! Now!" He pointed.

She pouted and made her crying face.

"Stop it. Stop it right now."

She threw her head back and began loudly sobbing.

He sighed and walked forward with Marcy to pick her up. "Come on, Mick. Stop crying. Why are you crying?"

"Daddy no love me anymore!" She wailed.

"That's not true! I love you so much but you have to leave."

"Why?!"

"Because Mommy and Daddy have to talk to the nice policeman."

"Powiceman?"

"Yeah. We have to talk about boring grown up stuff."

She thought about it before she wiped away her tears. "Okay, Daddy."

"Thank you." He set her down and she hugged his legs.

"Mommy." Mally finally spoke.

Marcy sniffled and picked him up, burying her face in his little chest.

He patted the back of her head. "Why Mommy cry?"

"Mommy got scared." Mal explained.

Mally was blown away. "Mommy scared?"

"Yep. Even mommies and daddies get scared. Remember when you left the park a while ago? Mommy and Daddy were scared then."

Mally wrapped his arms around his mother's head. "No scary, Mommy. I here."

"Me too!" Mickey encircled Marcy's legs.

"Thank you, babies." Marcy rubbed both of their backs.

Mal pried them away from her. "Go find Marionette. I'm sure she's wondering where you are."

"Bye, Mommy." The twins waved as they left, the six dogs following.

"Would you like to come in?" Mal asked the officer.

"Yes, thank you. Cute kids." The officer nodded once.

"They're a handful."

"Would you like something to eat or drink?" Marcy asked softly.

"That would be lovely, ma'am." The officer nodded again.

"Mal, show him to the living room. I'll be just a moment."

"Are you sure?" Mal pressed. "I can do it."

"No, I'll do it." She patted his arm around her before moving away from him. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a serving tray before putting on a kettle for tea, which her nerves sorely needed.

Santana walked in, rubbing her stomach. "What's a cop doing here?"

"I don't know." Marcy placed a few boxes of tea on the tray.

"He hasn't said?"

"The twins took up much of the conversation but Mal's showing him the front room now." Marcy began making a charcuterie plate large enough for three.

Santana snuck a piece of salame. "Did you do something bad?"

"Probably." Marcy was used to it.

"You seem down." Santana didn't know how to ask without seeming insensitive. "Did you have another episode?"

"No. I saw a clown." Marcy washed off fruit and began slicing.

"A clown?" Santana was surprised.

"I don't like clowns."

"O-kay…" Santana snuck a cracker.

Marcy set the whistling kettle on the tray then added shortbread and jam with a knife. "We'll see you after."

"What are you going to do with that tray?" Santana asked after the second tray that held the kettle, three mugs and tea with condiments.

"Come back for it."

"I can carry it."

"You're pregnant."

"I'm not dead. I can carry a tray."

"Nope."

"Patti-"

"No!"

Santana sighed. "Fine. But when you get pregnant again, you're not lifting a finger."

"I'll remember that." Marcy picked up the tray with food and strode out.

"Crap!" Santana realized she'd just volunteered to do work.

Marcy walked to the living room and set down the first tray. "I'll be back with the tea."

"You want me to get it?" Mal asked.

"I'm fine." She went back to get it then came right back. She set it down before taking her own seat.

"Thank you, ma'am." The officer spoke.

"You're welcome. I didn't know which tea you preferred so I brought some normal ones. I also don't know what you like to eat-"

"Ma'am, it's fine. Really."

She took a deep breath as Mal took her hand and rubbed it. "I'm sorry. I don't even know your name. I never asked."

"I'm Officer Carl Biggs, ma'am."

"It's nice to meet you, Officer Biggs. Please call me Marcy."

"Yes, ma'am- I mean Marcy."

"Please. Eat."

He helped himself to a bit of food and let her pour him a mug of hot water. "Ma- Marcy, would you like to inform me of your whereabouts fifteen minutes ago?"

"Fifteen minutes-?" Her eyes widened and she began shaking.

"Hey, calm down." Mal squeezed her fingers.

"Ma'am, were you downstairs in the lobby of this building?" Biggs asked.

Marcy nodded. "Yes."

"Were you assaulted?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I just know I was- I was talking to my friends and it came out of nowhere." She began crying softly and shaking gently.

"It's okay. Take your time."

"I- I just- I don't know. It all was a blur. I just had to protect myself. I didn't know what was happening. I don't-" She stopped.

"Take your time." He murmured.

She took a breath. "I just remember seeing it and freaking out. I swung and I swung and the next thing I knew, Mal was saving me."

"That's where you come in, Mr. Chang."

"Mal, please." Mal felt tortured having heard her recounting. No one should have to go through that.

"Mal. What was your take on the situation?"

"We'd just gotten back and all you could hear was screaming and crying. I saw her-"

"Back from where?"

"A meeting with her estranged mother."

Marcy flinched.

"Where was this meeting?" Biggs asked.

"The Hilton." Mal answered.

"Any reason why she contacted you instead of your wife?"

"She had news to share and Marce refused to go."

"What was the news?"

Mal really didn't want to share. If she was already upset from her fear, how was she going to take the news of her mother?

"Please, Mr. Chang. The news?"

Mal turned to Marcy and took both of her hands. "Baby, when the restraining order is expired, your mom is moving here."

"What?" Marcy didn't know how to feel.

"Your mom's moving to New York. Are you okay?"

She took her hands back from him and sat away from him.

"Baby,-"

"It's not fair." She whispered.

"I know-"

"It's not fair." She repeated louder.

"Baby,-"

"It's not fair!" She popped up and shoved her fingers through her hair. "I just got rid of her! Why is this happening to me?!"

He stood up and went to her, wrapping his arms around her. "I know, baby and I'm sorry. But she's already talked to Grandmom and she's coming to Christmas next year. She said she wants to be a part of our lives."

"No! No, no, no, no! She cannot do whatever she wants! It's my life and I don't have to have her in it!"

"I know. I know." He had nothing to offer.

She wiped her face, going into her hair again, getting it off her wet cheeks. "How were the others? They miss her, don't they?"

"I don't know. I think they're just waiting to see what you're gonna do."

"If they want her, they can have her! I don't have to go to Christmas! I can sit here with my kids and have a very happy holiday without anyone!"

He kissed her cheek.

She looked miserable.

Officer Biggs cleared his throat. "I am sorry about your struggles with your mother but we should really complete our interview."

Mal tugged Marcy back to her seat and cleared his throat. "Yes."

"So you returned from your meeting and you investigated the screaming you heard?"

"Uh… yeah. I saw her on top of someone and I pulled her off. She clung to me and I brought her upstairs. I don't actually know the situation or what happened."

Biggs wiped his mouth on a napkin. "I hate to heap all this extra stress on you but it turns out your friends downstairs knew you'd react unfavorably and hired the clown on purpose."

"What?" Both teens gaped. "Why?"

"Apparently as a Halloween prank. They were filming to put on the Internet."

Rage filled both but Marcy's was a cold rage. While Mal's ran hot. He stood up quickly. "What?!"

"Mal,-" Marcy reached for him but he was heated.

"No! I'm getting them!"

"Mal, calm down. Please?"

He sat abruptly and cuddled her close. "Are you okay?"

"I-" She stopped. She was not okay but revenge would have to wait. "How is it?"

"How is what, ma'am?" Biggs asked, watching her carefully.

"The- the-" She couldn't even say it.

"The clown?" He put delicately.

She nodded.

"Um… I'm not sure of all of his injuries but there are quite a few. The paramedics were loading him up as I came up here. If anything happens, you won't be charged. But your friends will."

"Good!" Mal barked.

Personally Biggs agreed. Professionally he had to remain impartial. "This is me taking your statement but my superiors might want to question you further down the line. Is there a phone number where I could reach you?"

"Yes." Marcy nodded before rattling off the house number and her cell phone number. Mal added his cell phone number.

"Well I should go." Biggs set aside his mug. "This has been delicious and I'll definitely give you a call about how we're going to handle this."

"I'll walk you out." Mal offered.

"What?!" Was screamed throughout the home. It was Santana.

"Is she okay?"

Marcy shrugged.


	23. Chapter 23

**_I know it's early but I'm bored._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

"Mercy? Mercy?! Mercy!" Quinn called out.

Mercedes stopped whisking. "What, Lucy?"

"You're acting like a maniac. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Quinn gave her a look.

Mercedes blew out a breath. "Okay, I'm nervous. I just want tomorrow to go well."

"What are you expecting?"

"Honestly? For her not to come. I know I said I'd host Halloween this year since Maddie, Marc and our parents are working and Laura is still setting up her firm and can't get away but I'm starting to think I should have just let Marcy have the holiday and I just not come."

"Mercy, don't think that! Mal said she said she was coming and when I talked to her yesterday, she seemed okay."

"Okay? Just okay?"

"Well yeah. Her back was hurting her. She was lying on the couch in sweats."

"So she's not still mad about the clown thing?"

"Oh no, she's livid. I almost feel bad for the guys."

"They're so lucky that man didn't press charges! It was well within his right, putting his life in danger like that!" Mercedes was still mad at Puck and hadn't said two words to him beyond Raven's wellbeing in six days.

"Oh believe me; Finn is terrified. He keeps worrying that the guy is going to change his mind and he'll go to prison." And Quinn did nothing to ease those fears.

Mercedes took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sick of thinking about it. I just want to have fun and relax. We'll be all together for the first time in a while and we'll get to see sweet Jude again!"

"You see him at work all the time."

"Don't laugh at me! Work is work! We're _working_!"

"Okay!" Quinn giggled.

Mercedes pushed her a bit. "Hush up and help me with these treats."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Brittany stared at her stomach and just began sobbing.

Artie wheeled in. "Britt, what's wrong?!"

She turned to eye him darkly.

"Oh _no_ …" He could see the mood swing coming.

"I'm mad at you! You did this to me! I'm fat and I- can't- fit- my- costume!"

He rolled closer (against his better judgement to race out) and pulled her into his lap. "Babygirl, you are not fat. You're swollen with our child. I love every curve, every stretch mark-"

"I have stretch marks!" She remembered at that moment.

"And they're beautiful." He kissed her cheek and spread his right hand over her large belly.

"Will I be like this forever?"

 _Dear heavens, I hope not_ … "This?"

"This big." She clarified with a pout.

"Even if you got bigger and stayed like that for the rest of your life, you will still be one of the two sexiest women in the history of the world."

She eyed him seriously. "I'm still mad at you for Marcy."

"I know." Guilt pricked him.

She hugged him. "But thank you for making me feel better."

Warmth spread through his chest.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Rae!" Mercedes did not understand her child. This kid kicked as much outside of her as she did inside. "Are you Mikey's?! You can tell me!"

A giggle sounded behind her.

Mercedes turned. "Hi, Bethie!"

"Hi, Tia Me!" Beth ran over and stood on her toes. "Hi, Rae!"

Raven squealed loudly and flailed her limbs wildly.

Mercedes sent her an unamused look.

Beth giggled again. "Do you like my outfit, Tia Me?"

"Oh yes, I do! You make a very beautiful Cinderella."

Beth held her dress out. "Do you need help with Rae?"

"Yes, I do!" Mercedes groaned in frustration when Raven kicked her chest.

Beth dragged over a chair from the play table and stood on it. "Hi, Sissy."

Raven shrieked.

Beth grasped her little sister's leg and shoved it inside the green costume.

Mercedes brought the back up then fought to get Raven's arms through their holes. Finally she was about to zip up the sunflower costume. "Thank you, Beth."

"You're welcome, Tia Me." Beth beamed.

Mercedes stuffed a pacifier in Raven's mouth and picked her up. She set her on her hip and offered a hand to Beth. "Want to watch me finish the food for tonight?"

Beth took her hand and hopped down. "Yes!"

"Let's go!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Mike, stop fussing." Tina slapped at his hands messing with his bolo tie.

"It's weird!" Mike hated it. He didn't understand how Sam wore one for prom three years ago.

"I know but you're a cowboy."

"We should have gone with my pick."

"I'm not being a hooker!"

"You could have been a madam!"

She groaned. She was not having this fight again. "Let's just go inside." She pointed to the door they came to a stop in front of.

"I'm sorry, T. I'll leave it alone." He wouldn't make her sad.

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek. "I really think we look cute."

"Of course we do. You especially."

She blushed.

He unlocked the door and ushered her in. They slipped off their cowboy boots and went further into the house.

"Hey!" The occupants raised a cheer when they crossed the threshold of the den.

"Hey!" The adorable "Western" couple responded.

"Look at you!" Mercedes came over to kiss both. "You look so cute and fun!"

"Thank you, Mercy!" Tina beamed.

"I'm surprised you're wearing pink though."

"I was busy with school and work so I got our costumes late. Pink was the only cowgirl costume left."

Mercedes could tell it bummed Tina out, too. "You make it look great!"

"You look great! Are you a dancer?"

"I'm the girl on the banana! But technically yes, I am a dancer."

Mike laughed.

"Will my big brother save a dance for his only sane little sister?"

"I think they might be upset if they heard that."

"Only if someone told."

"I'll think about it." He smiled. "And yes, I will dance with my big voiced little sister."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Give her the trophy." Mal urged.

Mally gave his sister the trophy for best costume- even though they were wearing the same one. "Here you go, Mickey."

"Thank you, Mally." Mickey kissed him.

"Give the other one to Beth." Mal prodded his son.

Mally held out the other tiny trophy. "Here you go, Beth."

"Thank you, Mally." Beth hugged him.

"Another round for the winners!" Mike led the clapping (he was the judge for the costume contest).

The party began clapping for the two toddlers as they blushed and preened (Beth blushed, Mickey preened).

 ** _M-A-P_**

"The party was great, Sissy." Quinn kissed Mercedes' cheek. "I'm going to go put Beth down then I'll be back down to help you clean."

"Okay. Most everybody's gone so it'll be easy." Mercedes waved her off.

Quinn took Beth upstairs.

A throat cleared behind Mercedes and she swung around, scared. "Oh! Marcy! You scared me!"

"Sorry." Marcy did look contrite. And troubled. She plucked at the extra material on her dress shirt that was part of her pirate's costume. "Can we talk?"

"You want to talk to me?"

"Yeah."

Mercedes tried not to get too excited. "Sure. You want to go somewhere private?"

"Nobody cares about Puckerman."

Mercedes turned and sure enough, Puck was behind her, holding up a wall, watching them intently. "What about Mal?"

"He'll be okay." Marcy lurched forward from the force of Mal's hand on her rump. "Nobody else is here. It's private."

"Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"You. And me. And how sorry I am."

"Sorry you are? Why are you sorry? The boys were monster jerks-"

"Not about that. I'm mostly over that. I mean this. This no talking thing. I hate it."

"You do?" Hope beat a steady tattoo in Mercedes' heart.

"Yes. I've hated it since the first day I instituted it."

"Then why-?"

"Because I had to. I may have hated it but it did its job. I don't see her in you like before. I was so angry with her that I was taking it out on you and that was _not_ fair."

"But I still look like her. I still sound like her." _What are you doing?! Stop talking!_

"I know. I had to come to terms with that. Mainly because I look like her and sound like her, too. She's a part of me. A part I want to cut off more than anything but I can't escape this. I have to find a way to live with it. But I can't live without you."

Tears dripped down Mercedes' face. "You can't?"

Marcy put a hand under her chin. "You are one of the most forgiving, sweet, kind, giving souls I've ever come across. No one should be without you."

"Can I hug you?"

"Sure."

Mercedes hugged her carefully, taking care not to smash Mally in her arms. "So it's over? Officially?"

"It's officially over."

"Yay!" Mercedes made sure not to be too loud, lest she awaken Mally. "We should do something to celebrate!"

"I was thinking we do movies."

"Do movies?"

"Yeah. Remember how we'd all get to one house and have dinner and watch a couple movies before bed? I think it'd be good for the kids and for us to remember our childhood. The good parts."

"Oh! That's good! We should probably stick to Disney before they go to sleep."

"Yeah, I definitely don't want them seeing everything we saw back then."

Mercedes smiled. "When do you want to do it?"

"I was thinking sometime this week because I won't be here this weekend."

"Really? Me either."

"I have a gig for a music video." Marcy lifted a brow.

Mercedes frowned. "Me too."

"In L.A.?"

"Yeah." This was too freaky. "With Chris Brown?"

Marcy took a relieved breath. "No. With Drake."

Mercedes smiled at Mal's rumblings. It sounded near like Puck's. "You love him!"

"You still love CB."

"People make mistakes."

"Yeah, they do." Marcy's eyes widened as something occurred to her. "We should go together! I'm leaving Friday night."

"I was leaving Saturday morning but I can change my flight. Have you booked a room yet? I was going to do it Monday."

"Yeah, I got one. You can just stay with me. This is going to be better than Lucy's video!"

Mercedes laughed.

"I'm taking Mickey. You should bring Rae."

"I was thinking about it." Mercedes ignored Puck clearing his throat. "I'm still breastfeeding and I don't know if I want her on formula for that length of time."

"I'm so glad I'm done breastfeeding but I'll be glad when these go down." Marcy indicated her swollen breasts.

Mercedes reached out and played with one. "I'm not looking forward to it. Do you still pump or what?"

"Nope. And I leak all the damn time. My shirts all look like they're crying!"

Mercedes laughed.

Mally yawned in Marcy's face and tightened his hold on her. "Alright, Poppa. Let me put these two down. I'll see you in the morning."

"Bye." Mercedes kissed both of their cheeks. "Bye, Mal."

"Night, Sis." Mal ushered Marcy out.

Mercedes turned to Puck and went to him, embracing him tightly.

"So you're happy?" He asked.

"No talking. I'm still mad at you."

"Mama?!"

"Hush!" She squeezed him.

He was kinda amused by it so he let her hug him for a while. "I gotta help put Beth down."

"Not that I'm talking to you but why weren't you upstairs before now?"

"I just wanted to look out for you. You might be mad at me and I might deserve it-"

"Might?"

He arched an eyebrow. "But I love you too much to let you get hurt."

"Well thank you."

"Do you feel the same way?"

"I'm not saving you, Noah!"

"Aww come on, Mama! She already got Bowties!"

"Next time when Mikey tells you something, listen!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Mommy!" Mickey stood on the bed.

"Sit down." Marcy ordered.

Mickey sat. "Mommy, I hungry!"

"So is Mommy. You, Merce?"

Mercedes stretched her back. "So much! Let's order room service and watch a movie in our PJs."

"Bet!" Marcy could go for that.

They ordered room service and took turns bathing the grime of travel away before cuddling up in bed. They ate and watched a movie before the babies dropped off.

The adults brushed their teeth and put the cart outside before climbing in bed to talk over things they'd missed in each other's lives since their ban.

They spoke late into the night until both fell asleep. When they awakened, they brushed their teeth, washed their faces and got dressed before readying the girls.

Marcy had an earlier call time than Mercedes so they were leaving together to go to the studio where the first scenes were going to take place.

They arrived at the lot and were shown where to go. And that was when they saw him; Aubrey Drake Graham. Marcy found him cuter in person.

The director brought them over to meet him. "Drake, this is MarcAn Jones. Ms. Jones, Drake."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Marcy said. "I used to watch _Degrassi_ everyday."

"Thank you." Drake had a beautiful smile. "I like your ads."

"This is my sister, MercyCat and our daughters. Mickey is mine and Rae is hers."

"Hi, sweetie." He waved to Mickey.

Who brightened at seeing this handsome man. "Hi!"

"How are you?"

"I fine. You?"

"Aww!" He found her impossibly cute. "And how are you, sugar?"

Raven waved her arms at him like she wanted him to take her from her mother.

"Can I hold her?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised she's not screaming already." Mercedes gave her up. "She does not like new people."

"So I'm special?" He tickled Raven under her chin. The baby fell out in giggles.

"Mine!" Mickey was upset.

"Mickey, he's not yours." Marcy murmured.

"Mine!"

Drake reached for Mickey and she jumped in his arms. "I can't believe I'm holding the two prettiest girls I've ever seen."

Mickey beamed. "I pretty?"

"Yes, you are."

"You're trying to get caught, aren't you?" Marcy wagged her finger.

"Caught?" His brows drew together.

"Some woman is going to try to trap you. You've got mad fathering skills. It's wildly attractive."

A light dusting of red covered his cheeks. "We- we should get started."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Marcy!" Mercedes didn't know whether to laugh or not. She definitely didn't think she should but it kind of tickled her.

"What?!" Marcy was irritated.

"You can't say that about people. Especially people you don't know! It's rude!"

"I'm rude!" Marcy tossed her head.

"You know what?! I quit!" The featured artist on Drake's song ranted. "This fat bitch has been running her mouth nonstop and not one of you has taken up for me!"

"Hey!" Marcy yelled. "Watch your mouth around my kids."

"Or what?!"

"Can I show her?" Marcy asked- begged Mercedes.

"No!" Crap! Mercedes giggled.

Marcy grinned. "Don't try me, trick. This ain't what you looking for."

"What are you gonna do?!" The young lady, Ashley Moore bit off. "Sit on me?!"

"Fat jokes? That's all you got? Cuz it sure ain't talents, intellect or style."

The crew snickered.

"Ladies, please." Drake tried to intervene. "We need to finish this so we can move on. Please call a truce."

"I will not." Marcy lifted her nose. "I don't negotiate with slags."

"What the hell is that?!" Ashley shouted, tired of the confusing names Marcy had been steadily calling her.

Marcy lifted two fingers. "You've got no more warnings, heathen."

"You're a heathen!"

"Nice clapback, Prostitution Barbie."

Ashley jumped at her but a PA held her back.

"No. She's feeling froggy. Let her jump."

"You don't know me! You don't know me!" Ashley screamed.

"Gladly."

Ashley broke away from the PA and ran at Marcy, who punched her straight in the face. Ashley fell to the hard ground, hitting her head. She lay there for a moment as everything stopped.

No one (except Mercedes) had been expecting that.

"Well I feel much better." Marcy murmured before smiling at Drake. "We can probably keep going now."

Assistants helped Ashley up and a PA offered to drive her to the hospital, both her head and her face were bleeding.

Drake was in deep shock. "Why'd you do that? I needed her!"

"Why? I'm sure you can pull any cat in heat off a branch and let it sing for you. It'd definitely sound better than her." Marcy couldn't care less.

"In exchange for singing backup, she was supposed to be in the video." He explained calmly. "If she's not in the video, I can't use her voice."

"Can't you use someone else's?"

"Whose?"

She shrugged. "You've got to know mad people."

"I'm thinking you should do it." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Me? Nah, I'm not a singer."

"Well that's too bad because of you, I need you to be one. We'll do the video today and we'll go in the studio tomorrow before I have to leave."

"I gotta flight tomorrow. I have class on Monday."

"Well I guess you better get it in one take."

Marcy pouted as she looked at her sister, who was nearly late for her own shoot. Sometimes her temper really bit her in the ass.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Man, she's adorable!" Chris Brown tickled Raven.

"Thank you." Mercedes burped her. "We can get back to shooting now that she's fed."

"I've never seen a woman breast-feed before. It's incredibly erotic."

"I already told you I have a boyfriend."

"I know but he ain't got to know." He leered at her.

She laughed. "Oh, he'd know."

"Alright. But if you ever change your mind, you got my number. Let's get through this next scene and you can take a real break."

"Thank you."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Drake stared at Marcy in stupefied fascination. "I thought you said you weren't a singer?!"

"I'm not." Marcy shrugged.

"Come out here."

She left the booth and came out into the main area of the studio. She took a seat on a couch.

He turned in his chair and crab walked over to her. "Did you get rid of Ashley so you could sing for me?"

Marcy laughed. "You think a lot of yourself, don't you?!"

He blushed. "Why'd you say you couldn't sing?"

"I didn't say I couldn't sing, just that I'm not trained. I mean I was in glee club but I doubt that counts."

"I think it does. Your voice is beautiful. You make the song better. Now I'm not too sure of my verses."

"Please, you're fire and you know it."

"Fire!" Mickey repeated.

"Did you know Mommy could sing?" Drake asked her.

Mickey nodded. "Mommy best!"

"Nah." Marcy blushed. "MercyCat is the best. She can heal a broken heart."

"If you think she's good, she must be." Drake blinked at Mercedes. "Can I get a little sample?"

Mercedes shrugged and began singing a hymn.

Drake was blown away. "You really sound like that?!"

Mercedes blushed. "Thank you."

"I'm going to be on the lookout for you two. You're definitely going far."


	24. Chapter 24

"Tell us!" Brittany demanded as soon as the group hit the sidewalk outside.

"Tell you what?" Mercedes asked.

"How was it to meet Chris Brown? I bet it was so cool!"

"It was. He's really funny."

"Is he cuter in person?"

"Drake is." Marcy stared at Ellen, who pouted.

Brittany squealed. "Eek! Are you guys friends now?!"

"I think so." Marcy frowned, not messing with Ellen this time. "We exchanged numbers and followed each other on social media."

"So did me and Chris." Mercedes nodded.

Anna didn't like that. "He didn't hit on you, did he?"

"He was only kidding."

"What?!"

"Did Drake hit on you?" Ellen worried.

"I wouldn't have heard it over my hitting on him." Marcy lifted a shoulder before turning to Karou. "Ready?"

Karou grinned. "Yeah, let's do it!"

The two took off running with their dogs.

Ellen growled.

Mercedes wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her left arm. "She is only playing."

"She didn't hit on him?"

Mercedes stilled.

Ellen's face crumpled.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Your birthday was last week and if I recall correctly, we went out and did everything you wanted." Marcy lifted a brow.

"I know but think of this as birthday extended." Ellen tried.

"You get three days where it's all about you. No more, no less."

"Three?"

"Your birthday, Valentine's Day and the anniversary thing."

"Thing?! And Valentine's Day is for all of us!"

"If it was really about me, we wouldn't celebrate it."

Mal snorted in amusement.

Ellen turned to him and he looked away quickly. She turned back to Marcy with a pout. "Please!"

"No." Marcy scribbled more numbers and letters onto her page before tossing aside her pen in aggravation. "I'm late."

"For what?" Mal raised a brow.

"You are, too. Are you taking the twins with you or am I taking them with me?"

He nodded. He understood now. She meant volunteering. "Um… I think it's my turn."

"I'll get them ready before I go." Marcy began closing her books and putting away her homework.

Mal did, too. "Will you pick up dinner on your way back?"

"Sure. Want Chinese? I'm getting Chinese…"

He chuckled.

Ellen gave a low scream of frustration. "You're not listening to me!"

"Because I'm actively _ignoring_ you." Marcy told her.

Ellen crossed her arms. "It's not fair! If I had some boy's number, you'd freak out!"

"Have we met?!" Marcy laughed. "I don't do jealousy!"

"That's more my thing." Mal admitted.

"Then why aren't you freaking out?" Ellen pouted.

"Because I know the password on her computer and if he has an iPhone, I'll be able to see their messages. If he crosses the line, I will just send him a time and a day and I'll kill him."

Marcy slapped a hand over her mouth but they already saw her smile.

"Are you doing this on purpose?!" Ellen demanded.

" _Do I look like a guy with a plan?_ "

"Stop quoting super villains!" Mal snapped.

Marcy walked out of the study.

Ellen gave another scream.

Mal narrowed his eyes. "I'm watching her."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"MercyCat." Anna said patiently.

"Annie, no. I'm sick of going over this. I'm not deleting Chris Brown's number." Mercedes refused.

"You like him better than us!" Anna pouted.

 _Is this why Marcy always says "at the moment"? I totally understand now!_ Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Can I please just watch TV?"

"Why aren't you taking me seriously?"

"I'm taking you very seriously. I wish I wasn't but I am."

Puck's lips twitched. The Queen of Sass was making a comeback.

"Noah, are you laughing?!" Anna was horrified.

"I think Mama's just tired. She was on a plane for hours and jumped right back into her life. She might need to watch TV to unwind. She can probably talk this weekend."

Mercedes threw him a brittle look.

He grinned.

She hated that her loins quivered. It was so much easier to be angry with him when he didn't make that rakish grin. She scowled.

He laid back against the pillows and put his arms behind his head.

Anna, meanwhile, had been thinking it over. "Okay. Definitely this weekend we'll talk about you deleting Chris Brown's number."

Mercedes pulled a long suffering face. "Fine. Whatever. We'll talk about it."

Anna sat back in the bed, satisfied. "I'll see you in the morning."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Quinn yawned as she answered her phone. This early morning class was kicking her butt but the semester was almost over so she should stop complaining. "Hello?"

"Quinn?"

"Hello?"

"It's Bernie." Bernadette Stevens was their agent.

"Hey, Bernie." Quinn pepped up.

"I've got news for you and your sisters."

Quinn waited but Bernie didn't say anything else. "What is it?"

"Are you ready?"

Quinn frowned in confusion. Who was this? Bernie didn't play games. She was by the book and no nonsense. "Bernie, what is it?"

"You all have a meeting with the head of AandR at Protest Records set up for _this week_!"

"What?!" That didn't make any sense.

"His name is Percy Gunn and he requested a meeting with you guys tomorrow!"

"Wha- why?!"

"Apparently your grandmother spoke with him and told him how talented you are. She apparently said "granddaughter" but failed to mention which one when she gave him my name but I talked him into listening to all three of you!"

"Bernie, I don't know-"

"Don't do this to me! I already had to fight with that demonic sister of yours! Now I have to wait until the angel among you gets out of class so I can call her and tell her."

Quinn checked the time on her phone. Mercedes was still in class and technically so was Marcy. "I'll think about it. I have to go to my next class."

"Doesn't it start in fifteen minutes?" Bernie had a full rundown on all of their schedules.

"Can I get there please?!"

Bernie grumped. "Fine! You better make that appointment tomorrow!"

Quinn hung up, knowing Bernie never said goodbye.

She had a lot to think over. Would she go to this meeting? Obviously it was for Mercedes. There would be no reason for her to go.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Of course you're going!" Mercedes shook Quinn.

"But it's obviously for you." The mostly blonde shook her head.

"She's right." Marcy blew out a stream of smoke. "We don't sing."

"We were in glee club for three years! We all sing! In fact, we should make Mikey and Mal come with us!" Mercedes was being stubborn.

"You know neither one of them are giving up their dreams to become singers." Marcy scoffed with a major eye-roll.

Mercedes needled. "Why are you being like this?!"

"Why are you? Singing is _your_ dream. Why do you want us to?"

"Because we all love singing. It might not be your first love but it's a love. A deep love. You can't tell me that performing doesn't give you a rush that many things can't beat."

Marcy and Quinn eyed each other before turning to her. "Alright. We're in."

Mercedes clapped and reached down to pet the trio of puppies that were out for their bi-daily poop break. "Yay! We're gonna be singers."

 ** _M-A-P_**

The offices were clean and orderly with records all over the walls in various finishes. People in suits walked around, looking incredibly busy and important.

"Can I get you water while you wait?" A receptionist with a bright smile asked.

"Do you have tea?" Mercedes needed to calm her nerves.

"Yes, we do. We have bottle tea if you prefer or I could get you hot water and tea bags."

"Bottled is fine."

"Three?"

"Yes, please." Mercedes didn't even ask her sisters. "Thank you."

The woman left.

"Calm down, chick." Marcy flipped through a magazine. "You sing every day."

"But this man is important. Protest is a huge label." Mercedes fretted.

Marcy rolled her eyes.

Quinn did, too before reaching for Mercedes' hand. "You have to calm down before you have a heart-attack and can't sing a note. I promise this will go well."

"Or incredibly wrong." Marcy flipped another page.

"Marcy!" Quinn hissed.

"I said "or"."

Quinn gave up with an eye-roll that was felt in the back of her skull.

The receptionist came back with three bottles of tea. She went back to her desk as the three opened their bottles and began drinking simultaneously.

"Send them in." Buzzed across an intercom.

The receptionist popped up. "This way."

The trio followed her through a maze of corridors into a large room that was neither office nor boardroom but a strange combination of both.

"Here you are, Mr. Gunn."

"Thank you, Alicia." A tall, round man came over from the windows.

Alicia left, closing the doors behind her.

"Hello. I'm Percy Gunn." He shook their hands.

"I'm MercyCat and these are my sisters, Quinn and MarcAn." Mercedes introduced them.

"Hmm." He studied them. "I don't have much time but if you could sing something for me, that would be a great start."

They stared at him.

"Now. Sing something now."

"We caught that." Marcy sassed. "What do you want us to sing?"

He narrowed his eyes, somehow already knowing she was trouble. "Whatever you're most comfortable singing."

She huffed and rolled her eyes before looking around. She spotted a piano and went to it, sitting down and opening it. She began playing a slow melody and opened her mouth to sing Renée Olstead's _She Has Your Name_.

His brows were hidden in his hair, he was so surprised. "You sing jazz!"

Marcy shrugged.

"Anything else?"

"I am a rocker."

"Please illustrate."

She began playing a Rolling Stones hit and belted out _Laugh, I Nearly Died._

"Wow." He heard a cash register listening to her. "Who's next?"

Quinn sat next to Marcy and began playing a simple melody. She sang _To Know Him is to Love Him_ by the Teddy Bears.

"Anything else?"

Quinn spied a guitar and handed it to Marcy before whispering the choice in her ear. Marcy began playing and Quinn sung Colbie Caillat's _Bubbly_.

"Hmm." Percy was wondering how to spin this before looking at Mercedes. "You're up."

Mercedes had been massively nervous but seeing her sisters sing calmed her more than the tea ever would. She went to the piano to sing Jill Scott's _Come See Me_.

"Anything else?"

Mercedes thought about it before singing _Thank You_ by Ashanti. The acapella hit showed off how flawless her voice really was.

"Well you definitely have talent." He couldn't deny that. "And I think I'm the right person to help you share it with the world."

"Really?" Mercedes couldn't believe it.

"Oh yeah. What do you do in your daily lives?"

"School mostly."

"Do you have jobs?" He clarified.

"I work at a coffee shop."

"I have a job but I work an hour a day." Marcy lifted a shoulder.

"I don't work." Quinn shook her head.

"Good. MercyCat, I want you to quit your job. I want to sign you all and you won't have time to work."

"We have other responsibilities." Marcy put a pin in that.

"We can come up with a schedule. I can see you three becoming big in your respective genres."

"Yay!" Mercedes cheered.

Percy paged Alicia and told her to bring three contracts.

"Wait!" Quinn blurted. "I'm not sure I want to sing. I'm busy right now with school and stuff. Plus I want to spend time doing other stuff."

"Even if you sign right now, you don't have to start cranking out songs right now. We can sign you and work with you to perfect your sound so we can put out quality whenever you're ready."

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Don't get comfortable, Slick Rick." Marcy told him.

"Is she always like this?" He asked her sisters.

Both nodded. "Even in her sleep."

He sighed heavily. "What is it?"

"I write my own songs. Period. I don't sing nobody else's words unless it's a really good old jazz cover or a rock cover from a great band that gave permission." Marcy stated in no uncertain words.

"What?!"

"Non-negotiable. I also own my songs, past, present or the future. And I want producing creativity. I know how these songs sound in my head and in order to tell my story, which I am if I'm signing anything, I have to do it my way."

He glared at her. "There are dozens of girls in that hallway right now that wouldn't think of doing this to me."

"Better call one of them to sing for you then."

He upped his glare. "Fine."

"I want to go over my contract with a magnifying glass, I want to bring in a producer for the first album at least and I want to be a band. A rock band. A jazz band. Jazzy rock? Rocky jazz? Whatever. And I want to find band members on my own."

"You want a lot."

"You want Grammys, don't you?"

That caught his attention. "You're promising Grammys?"

"You heard me. And I wasn't even trying."

She had a point. "Who's the producer?"

"He's unknown at the moment but he's going to blow up. Artie Abrams."

"Artie?!" Mercedes and Quinn gasped. "Aren't you mad at him?!"

"He's still talented. Besides if he wants to put out an album before the Grammys, I'll need to do all the instruments and I can't play the bass."

"Why don't you ask Mal?"

"I don't want to interrupt his flow. Besides someone needs to be with Mally and Mickey and Ellen's not there yet."

Mercedes nodded. "I want Artie to produce my album, too. At least some of it. I want Marcy to help and if she gives them, I want some of her songs. She writes incredible music and she has some club bangers that'll definitely get airplay. And I want to be in a group. With two other girls."

"Let me guess." Percy raised a brow. "You want to find them yourself?"

"I already found them. Two girls I know well."

"Who?" Quinn asked.

"Britt and Tana."

"That works out. Tana is terrible at reading to kids." Marcy smirked.

"Not everybody is gifted like you." Quinn teased.

"You right, you right."

Mercedes swatted both. "They need this and they're our best friends!"

"Ow! Okay!"

Percy's lips twitched. "Do you have any demands, Quinn?"

"Whenever my first album does come out, I want Artie to produce it and I want a handful of MarcAn's songs." Quinn said.

He sighed heavily. "Done." He snapped his fingers for Alicia to come out of the shadows.

Marcy chuckled. "So you think. We haven't looked at the contracts yet."

Percy paled.


	25. Chapter 25

**_Honestly I didn't feel like uploading yesterday._**

 ** _Enjoy and review!_**

 ** _NJPNJPNJP_**

Mercedes shut the door behind herself. "So how are we going to tell everyone?"

"Everyone?" Marcy took off her shoes.

"Well we have to tell everyone that we were just signed to a record label."

"No, we don't."

"Why are you so closed off?!"

"I think you should tell Britt and Tana but that's it until things are a bit more final."

"What about Artie?" Quinn pressed.

Marcy pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "I guess."

Mercedes smiled. "Does this mean you forgive him?"

"No!"

Mercedes pulled a long face as Quinn laughed. "Fine. They should be here by now-"

Barking sounded as yellow to silver colored dogs entered the foyer followed by a black dog and a white puppy.

Quinn picked up a puppy. "Aww! I'm going to miss when you give them away!"

"When is that?" Mercedes picked up another.

Marcy shrugged as she petted the last one. "Pretty soon. Mickey is getting anxiety over when we do and I gotta get her over this as soon as possible."

"You don't have to give them away."

"Stop it. I do so. I can't have six dogs in this house. I just got the stink out from their pooping inside and this is not happening again."

"Because Secret's already fixed?" Quinn posed.

"Thank everything!"

"What about Ecru?" Mercedes asked.

Ecru barked at hearing his name.

Mercedes bent to pet him. "Are you fixed, boy?"

Marcy huffed. "I don't think so but when he gets a bit bigger, he's definitely taking that trip downtown."

"Are you going to fix the triplets?"

"They're not my problem."

"I feel bad for Mickey. She's going to miss them so much."

Marcy stood up. "She's two."

"You missed Greece for a really long time."

"I got over it."

"After two years."

"I got over it."

Quinn set her puppy down. "Let's just find Tana and Britt. We'll talk about Marcy keeping the puppies later."

"I'm not keeping these flea bitten mongrels!"

Mercedes set her puppy on the floor and followed Quinn deeper into the house.

Marcy threw her hands up and followed. "I need a drink…"

Quinn checked the den and saw Bartana was waiting for them patiently. Rather two thirds of it was waiting patiently. Santana was salty about waiting when she had other things going on.

"What took you so long?! I do have a job, you know!" The fiery Latina spat.

"And you want to sing with that?" Marcy shook her head.

"That?!" Santana spat as Brittany frowned in confusion. "Sing?"

Artie smirked at the insult, which made his saucy brunette girlfriend punch him in the chest. He wheezed. "That's not nice, BT!"

"Stop being such a prig and listen. Mercy did something extremely nice for you. I wouldn't have done it." Marcy couldn't care less about his feelings.

"Me either." Quinn sat on a couch.

"Stop it, guys!" Mercedes frowned at them. "Yes, you would!"

"You see we didn't." Marcy climbed on a couch and sat on the armrest with her feet on the seat.

Mercedes' eyes widened as she realized they hadn't. "Well!"

"What'd you do?" Brittany asked.

"I bet it sucks." Santana just wanted to be contrary.

"You know what?!" Mercedes put her hands on her hips.

"Uh oh! You got MJ mad." Artie taunted his molten hot tempered baby mama.

Santana stuck her bottom lip out. "Don't be mad, Aretha. Tell us what you did."

"I got you a recording contract!" Mercedes exclaimed spiritedly.

"What?" The trio was stupefied.

"What part of that was the foreign concept?" Marcy asked.

Mercedes hit her as Quinn giggled behind her hand. "We saw an exec today and I talked him into signing me as a group and I told him about you two and how I wanted to be a group with you. He said we had to come back tomorrow and sing together and if we impress him, he'll sign you two as well!"

"A real record exec?" Santana wanted to make sure.

"Yes, you bad girl! We already looked over the contracts and it's a good deal. Even after Marcy went through it with a fine tooth comb."

"Is this real?" Brittany couldn't believe it. "We're really going to be singers?"

"No, Britt." Santana rolled her eyes. "They've been taken. Nobody's going to sign nobodies and have it be in their favor."

"Who are you? me?" Marcy smirked.

"Stop that right now!" Brittany yelled, eyes and fists clenched. "We're doing this! If Sadie says she's looking out for us and we get to sing, we're doing it!"

"Britt,-" Santana tried.

"I don't want to hear anything coming out of your mouth but "Thank you, Sadie."!"

Santana almost burst into tears. As it were, her voice was thick with unshed ones. "Thank you, Wheezy."

"You're welcome. Don't cry." Mercedes kissed her cheek. "We got to pick a song that highlights us well and try to come up with a bit of choreography."

"But we're big as houses." Brittany rubbed her large stomach.

"Lucy and Marcy danced up until they gave birth in glee."

Both smiled.

"Don't shake my babies aloose." Artie teased.

Brittany's mouth rounded.

"He's joking, Britt." Marcy said.

"Oh. So this will be okay?"

"Yes." Mercedes nodded. "I'm thinking maybe some Adele?"

"I love that!"

"Humph!" Santana refused to get excited until she met this man.

"You know you can't tell anybody, right?" Marcy folded her legs.

"Why?"

"Because it's no one's business and things are still up in the air."

"Why exactly am I here?" Artie asked. "Because I'm their boyfriend?"

"Not quite." Quinn shook her head. "We want you to produce our albums."

His eyes widened. "What?!"

"Yes."

"Me?!"

"Yes."

He stared at her, his mouth hanging open.

"Yes."

He snapped his mouth shut. "But I don't know anything about producing an album!"

"You're a master beat maker and you know music like you know your body." Marcy said. "Besides you're going to have help. For Mercy and your girls, I'm going to help and Mr. Gunn said he'd reach out to Timbaland."

"You're going to have thee Timbaland produce your record?!"

Mercedes smiled. "Yes!"

"You act like you can't hold your own with Timbaland." Marcy scoffed. "The man is a genius but so are you."

"Thanks, Boo Thang." Artie meant that.

"You should be thanking her." Quinn smirked. "It was all her idea. We didn't think to add anything to our contracts until she got to talking."

"And you thought of me?" Artie was touched, then ashamed as he thought about what he'd done. "I gotta say I'm sorry, BT. For the prank-"

"You ain't seen sorry." Marcy rearranged herself so she could cross her legs.

"You're still going to get me back."

"Yup."

He was not looking forward to that but knew it was well deserved. "I'll take those lumps. Do I gotta keep the producing a secret, too?"

"Yeah. For a while at least."

"Are you going to tell Mal and Ellen?"

"Mal, yes; Ellen, no."

"Why not?" Brittany pouted.

"She can't hold water. I'm just telling Mikey and Mal. Not even Rou. Not yet."

Mercedes nodded. "This has to be a secret."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes, Santana and Brittany breathed heavily from dancing and singing. After singing a mashup of Adele's hits, _Someone Like You_ and _Rumor Has It_ , they sung Christina Aguilera's _Candyman_.

Percy smiled. "Welcome to Protest, girls!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Sam opened the door before the doorman could. "Thanks anyway, Frank."

Frank nodded to him.

"You have a doorman?" Sam's study partner, Tyrone Baxter looked all around the interior.

"Yeah. You have to sign in." Sam pointed to security.

Tyrone whistled lowly before going over to security. As with all guests, he had to sign his name and provide proof of identity.

Sam waited for him before continuing to the elevator. They got on and rode up to the third floor. Sam went to his door and began unlocking it when a woman exited with her dog (that never touched the ground).

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Knight." Sam said politely.

She raised her nose. "Good afternoon, Samuel. Please tell Michael that Snookums flushed another toy."

"I will."

"Hi." Tyrone said.

"Hello." She eyed him before getting on the elevator.

Sam opened the door and they went inside. "I would have introduced you but she's not very nice. She has a problem with poor people."

"You're obviously not poor." Tyrone tried not to be nosy but he was from Queensbridge.

"I have a bit of money saved up but it's not a lot-" Sam realized he meant the house. "Oh no. My roommate is the rich one. Me and the other one rent rooms from him."

"Why? Obviously he doesn't need the money. Is he way older than you?"

"A year. He just wanted us as roommates cuz we're friends. We met in high school."

"I never come up this way. How is it living here then?"

"It's really expensive. I don't do anything in this neighborhood unless it's with my friends." Sam led the way to the den. "Are you hungry?"

"Oh yeah. You probably got good food."

Sam threw his backpack onto a couch and took out his phone to text Mike and Blaine. Both answered but neither were home. "Do you want snacks or do you want food?"

"I'll take what ya got but I want food. I haven't eaten since yesterday. College life, man."

Sam thought about it. He saw Marcy twice a day every day but she hadn't spoken two words to him since the prank. She hadn't even looked at him. Should he call her? He dialed her number.

She surprisingly picked up and he realized he had to talk. "Hey?"

"What?" She demanded.

"I'm here with a friend and-" This was going to sound stupid. "We're hungry-"

"What?!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know who else to call. I know Mercy's at work right now and Santana and Quinn will *not* cook for me and I don't know where Kurt is and no one else knows how to cook."

It was quiet for a while before, "I'll be there in ten."

"Really?! Oh thank you, Marcy!"

She hung up.

"Hello?" He blushed as Tyrone stared at him. "Yeah! I'll talk to you when you get here. Bye!" He put away his phone. "She'll be here in ten minutes."

Tyrone lifted a brow. "So who was that?"

"A friend." Sam hoped.

"Uh huh."

"Let's get to work on our project." Sam didn't want to explain how he was probably the worst friend in existence.

Pretty soon they were deep into their project and didn't hear anything.

"What does that do?" Marcy asked softly.

Both boys reacted terribly, screaming high-pitched and loud.

She straightened from her lean on the back of the couch. "Wow. You could be James Brown's grandson."

"Marcy, you scared us!" Sam felt weak.

She just stared at him.

He tried to stop his chest from heaving. "Bruce, this is Tyrone. Ty is my partner in class and we're working on a project together."

Marcy looked him over. He was pretty cute, even if he had a stereotypical name. "Marcy."

Tyrone reached out a hand to shake hers but she stared at it then his face blankly.

"Oh no!" Sam waved his hands. "Tony doesn't touch people!"

"Tony?" Tyrone was confused.

"I call her Tony or Bruce."

That was strange. "Why?"

Sam blushed.

"I thought you were hungry?" She saved him accidentally. She was just bored.

"We are."

"Well come on." She turned on her heel and walked out.

"We should follow her."

So they did. She went to the kitchen, where there was a pot of boiling water. She'd just added fettecine to it with salt and oil.

"How long have you been here?" Sam asked as he saw the prep in place.

"A while." She finished adding ingredients to a jar and shook it vigorously.

Sam really wanted to ask if she was still mad at him but didn't want to ask in front of Tyrone. Would she leave after she finished cooking or would she stay and they could talk?

Marcy placed the jar in the fridge before taking the chicken breasts off the eye. She combined spices, milk, flour, butter and cheese into a saucepan to make a sauce for the dish before taking the chicken out of the seasoned water to slice.

When it was all in strips, she added butter to a pan and began to sear the chicken. The kitchen smelled fantastic.

"You really know what you're doing." Tyrone complimented.

"I do." She turned off the eye and placed all the strips into the sauce.

"It smells great in here."

"Thank you." She began chopping herbs and set it aside on the cutting board then went to drain the noodles (which she didn't rinse). She grabbed a serving bowl and poured the noodles in before pouring the sauce on top.

She used tongs to mix it all before adding the herbs. She grabbed romaine lettuce from the fridge that she'd chopped earlier then grabbed croutons and a triangle of Parmesan cheese.

She opened the croutons and tossed them in before shaving cheese all over. She grabbed the jar from the fridge and emptied it into the bowl before using another pair of tongs to mix that together.

She grabbed two plates from the cabinet and made their plates then went to the fridge for two bottles of beer, which she opened with a bottle opener. "There you go."

"Thanks, Marcy." Sam took a deep breath, excited about eating.

"Yeah, thanks." Tyrone had manners.

Marcy inclined her head and began cleaning up her mess.

Tyrone took his first bite of the pasta and nearly died. It was so good! He stabbed at more and shoveled into his mouth.

Sam smirked. And another one fell to Marcy's cooking. He set his fork aside and looked at Marcy, who was washing dishes. He cleared his throat delicately. "Hey, Marcy?"

"What?" She was elbow deep in suds.

"I'm sorry." Marcy was silent so he went on. "I'm truly sorry. And I want to thank you for coming down here and cooking for us even though you're mad at me. It shows how good a person you are."

She rinsed off her arms and turned around. "Not that good. I want something."

"Anything." He'd give her anything to stop the guilt.

"What have I said about telling me that?"

"It's begging for you to take advantage of me." He monotoned.

"But I do need something. I need a guitarist."

"Why? You're a guitarist."

"I'm starting a band." Marcy gave a version of the truth. "I already asked Finn to be drummer."

"But you play drums?"

"Sam, I can't play every instrument on stage by myself."

He bobbed his head. "Who else are you asking? Will Artie play bass?"

"No. He has enough going on. I'll have to find a bass player on my own."

"We'll help you. If we're going to be in a band together, we should do things together."

"I know." She stared at him.

He stared back, unsure if he should ask.

Tyrone looked between them. "A band? A rock band?"

"Sort of." Marcy looked at him. "It's not just rock. It'll be dope."

"I'd love to do it." Sam agreed.

"Thank you."

He bit the bullet. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

Marcy thought about it. His apology was sincere. "Yes."

His everything brightened. Maybe Khandi would stop being mad at him, too? "Can I have a hug?"

"No. I'm still going to get you back."

He gulped. "Will Blaine help?"

"He's not going to go easy on you. He feels pretty guilty."

He flattened. "Alright. It's what I deserve."

"I gotta go. I left homework and the twins."

"I haven't seen them since Halloween. How are they?"

"Bad as hell but still expecting Christmas presents."

"Even sweet little Mickey?"

"Mally can talk her into anything. Boy got my charm."

"You are charming. But so is Mal."

"You think Mal's charming?"

"Well yeah. He got you, didn't he?"

"Hey! I got _him_! _I_ set that up!"

He chuckled. "What about Ellen?"

"I did that, too." She sniffed.

"Tell them I said hi."

"Come upstairs for dinner and tell 'em yourself."

"I'm allowed back upstairs?"

"I said I forgave you."

Sam smiled. "Thanks, Bruce."

"Clark." She saluted him before winking at Tyrone. "It's been a slice, Chocolate Drop but I gotta split. Maybe I'll see you again?"

And then she was gone.

Tyrone looked at Sam. "Who was that?"

Sam chuckled.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"What do you hear?" Timbaland asked Marcy.

Marcy hummed a bit before she began tapping out a beat on the beat maker. Her head bobbed along as she got into it.

"That's nice."

"Maybe add some of this?" Artie took over.

"Yeah and horns can go in here." Marcy told him.

"That'll sound nice." Timbaland nodded. "Sing it."

Marcy began singing the song she was giving to her sister and friends.

"Yeah! That sounds good. Let's add a bit of bass."

"When they come in tomorrow, this is going to be straight fire." Artie knew.

"If we keep going like this, this album will be finished by the first of the year."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"How are you doing on midterms?" Finn asked.

Puck frowned as he winced from the attack on his avatar. "I should be studying now."

"I know what you mean." Finn smashed buttons. "Some of these classes are hard."

"How are you, Q and Rachel?"

"Like… romantically?" Finn stared at him.

"Yeah." Puck didn't catch the look.

"You want to know about my relationship?"

Puck heard it. " _No_! I just wanted to know if they'd thawed out yet! It's been a month!"

"Rachel's mostly forgiven me but some days are definitely better than others when it comes to Quinn. What about Sadie and Anna?"

"Man, Kick was a mess at first. You'd think we pranked her. But I think she's nearly forgiven me. Mama talks to me now and she won't outright refuse to feed me and she started washing my clothes again (since I ran out). I just need Mini Mama to forgive me."

"She already forgave me." Finn said quietly.

Puck stared at him. "What?"

"She already forgave me." Finn shrugged, tense.

"Why?!"

"She needed my help with something."

"What? Maybe I can help her-?"

"I don't think it's going to work if she hasn't already asked you."

"Why not?!"

"Because she already asked Sam." Finn winced.

"What is it?" Puck would never admit to the hurt pricking him.

"She wants to start a band."

"And she wants him to play guitar?" He was truly hurt now.

"Yeah." Finn could tell.

"Oh."

It was silent until Finn perked up. "Want chips?"

"Sure." Puck just wanted to be alone for a moment.

Finn popped up and ran out to get chips.

Puck slumped back. She was really mad at him. It wasn't a joke. She was seriously steamed. Puck didn't know what to do but he had to make it right.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Timbaland asked.

"Who?" Marcy was confused for a moment.

"What do you mean "who?"?!" Artie was messed up over that.

"Is this going to be a thing?"

"Yes!"

She groaned loudly.

"You made it! You can celebrate now!"

"It didn't go well for my people the first time so why should I celebrate now?"

He was stuck.

"Your people?" Timbaland posed.

"I'm a quarter Native American." Marcy told him.

"Why don't you celebrate Thanksgiving? Because you're Native?"

"No. We never have. It's an American holiday. We didn't even think about celebrating it when we came here. The only reason we know when it is, is because we get off school."

"You're not American?"

"Nope."

"What are you?"

"We ain't got that kinda time." Artie snorted.

Marcy punched him quickly.

He rubbed his arm. "We don't!"

"I'm equal parts black, Italian, German and Native American." Marcy said. "I was born in Ireland but grew up in Greece. I'm a Greek citizen."

Timbaland's brows raised. "Wow. I get why you don't celebrate. You don't celebrate anything else?"

"We celebrate a bunch of holidays but not Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July."

"Makes sense."

"You have to celebrate now." Artie commanded.

"What for?" Marcy didn't want to.

"You've been here for like four years! It's time!"

Mercedes, Santana and Brittany returned from the bathroom as Marcy fixed her face to say no. "Hey! Why do you look grumpy?"

"Your boyfriend is annoying." Marcy told Brittany.

"Yeah, he is." Santana folded her arms.

Artie scowled. "MJ, don't you want to celebrate Thanksgiving?"

"Thanksgiving?" Mercedes was confused. "Why?"

He threw up his hands as Brittany squealed. "You have to celebrate! It's one of the best holidays!"

"Britt,-"

"Please?!" Brittany widened her ocean blue eyes.

Of course Mercedes fell for it. "Okay."

"And what exactly are you going to do to celebrate?" Marcy mocked.

Mercedes was stuck. "How do you celebrate?"

Timbaland's brows raised. They really didn't celebrate. "You cook food and watch football or the parade-"

"What parade?" Mercedes and Marcy asked.

The group gasped. " _The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade_!"

"I've never seen a parade on TV before." Marcy said.

Artie sighed. "Promise us you'll do something next week."

"What's next week?"

"Thanksgiving!"

"Alright! Calm down!"

"I'll ask my mom what she's making and you can make all the same stuff. I'm sure your dad would like that."

Mercedes shook her head. "Daddy and Papa Mike are out of the country."

"Then your moms-"

"Also gone. Maddie's coming up here to be with us."

"Wait, she's alone now?!"

"No but she's going to have to miss school that week cuz they're leaving this weekend."

"Well have it here. Marc's playing Thursday, isn't he?"

"Yeah, we were going to watch the game." Marcy shrugged.

"Just add food and you've got Thanksgiving." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Can I host it?" Mercedes asked her sister.

Marcy thought about it. She didn't want it but she did want another one. "As long as I get the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day."

"Valentine's Day?"

"I thought maybe we'd have a dance party? It's mainly to get Ellen off my back. That chick's all about love and bullshit and this will head her off."

"You're not romantic!" Brittany stomped a foot.

"I'm not." Marcy freely admitted.

"Done." Mercedes stuck her hand out.

Marcy shook it. "Can we get back to recording now?"


	26. Chapter 26

Mike opened the door. "Take off your shoes."

Maddie slipped off her shoes. "Hi, puppy!"

Ozzie yipped at her as Cooper came from his hiding place.

"Hi, new puppy!" Maddie set her luggage down and petted both dogs.

Mike shut the door behind them. "Are you sure you don't want to put your stuff across the hall at Marce's and Mal's?"

"It can wait." Maddie stood up. "Where's Mercy and Lucy?"

"Out shopping."

"You said that already. Why aren't they back yet?"

"It usually lasts a while."

"Why?!"

"Because they go to so many different places. Plus they drop off and collect dry cleaning."

"Ugh! Where's Beth and Rae? Then we'll go see Mal and the twins."

Mike shook his head with a rueful smile at his baby sister. She was definitely spoiled. "Alright. Let's go."

They went deeper into the house and came across Puck and Finn in the den, studying. Beth and Raven were playing on the floor by them.

"Hi!" Maddie shouted.

"Tia Mad!" Beth climbed to her feet and ran over.

Maddie scooped her up. "Hi, Beth!"

Raven turned over and crawled to Maddie. She pulled herself up by gripping Maddie's leggings.

"Hi, Rae!" Maddie scooped her up, too.

Raven blew bubbles.

"Hi, Tio Mi!" Beth waved to Mike.

"Hi, Beth!" Mike took her from Maddie. "How's it going?"

"Rae and I are playing quiet."

"Quiet?"

"Yeah. Papa and Finn are reading."

"I see. That's boring, huh?"

Beth nodded. "They're not reading to us."

"They should be ashamed of themselves. Making you girls be quiet while they do boring stuff."

Puck raised an eyebrow. "I can't wait for you and Tina to have kids."

"Me either." Mike set Beth on her feet.

Maddie kissed all over Raven's face as the baby giggled. "Let's go see the twins now."

"Twins?!" Beth grew excited.

"What about us?" Finn asked.

"What about you?" Maddie lifted her nose.

"You know about the prank." His heart sank.

"Humph!" She turned her back on him.

"But she forgave me for that."

"She did but I haven't!"

"Come on, Mad." Mike prodded her.

"She's just being nice for some reason."

"Whenever is she nice?"

"Don't talk about my big sister!"

"Oh stop. Come on. Let's go see the twins. Mickey will surely like to show off the puppies."

"Okay!" Maddie grew excited.

"Papa?" Beth gave him large wounded eyes.

Puck's shoulders slumped. "What?"

"I wanna see the twins."

"You wanna see the twins? I guess we could take a break."

They all left and went across the hall. Dogs ran from all over along with a teacup pig.

Maddie squealed. "They're so cute!"

Sully sniffed her and found her acceptable to be around his children. The puppies for their part jumped around her excited to see another person.

Mal walked into the entry way. "I thought they were back, you were making so much noise."

Secret woofed as if saying no.

"Hi, Mal!" Maddie threw herself in his arms like she'd done Mike when she got off the train.

"Hey, MadCap." He wrapped his arms around her.

"How was your birthday?"

"It was good."

"What'd you do?"

Mal said nothing but it was clear he wanted to say that it was who and not what.

Mike and Puck laughed as Finn blushed.

"Oh Mally Mal!" Maddie pushed away from him. "Where are the twins?"

Uneven footsteps belonging to two toddlers sounded.

"Hi, babies!" Maddie held her arms out.

"Tia Mad!" They ran to her and hugged her tightly.

Beth walked over when she put them down and hugged them herself. "Hi, guys!"

"Hi, Beth!"

"They're so cute together!" Maddie gushed.

"They're us." Mal gloated.

She swatted him. "Help me put my things away and we'll wait on my sisters together."

"Why I gotta put your stuff away?! You can do it!"

"Mal!"

"You sound like Mercy." He grumbled.

Mike laughed. "She does!"

"Then that means I'm right so help me!" Maddie bossed. "Show me around!"

Mal groaned. "Ugh!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Remember to go the speed-limit." Mercedes reminded Puck.

"I will, Mama." He refrained from rolling his eyes.

"And be careful of other drivers!"

"Mama! I've driven Rae around before!"

"I know but never on the highway. She's only be on it once." She was freaking out.

"Mercy, she'll be fine." Quinn told her. "Your car is the safest on the road. Even Puck can't mess this up."

Puck was unamused.

"I'll be his navigator, Sadie." Finn promised.

"And I'll be in the backseat with the girls." Rachel vowed.

"I'll stop tripping. I won't always be like this." Mercedes kissed Raven's face multiple times. "Mama will miss you, baby."

Raven waved her arms and put her open mouth on her mother's face.

"Thank you." Mercedes closed an eye. "Okay, take her, Noah."

Puck took Raven and set her on his hip. "Come on, Beth."

"Bye, Mommy! Bye, Tia Me! Bye, Anna!" Beth hugged her mother and aunt before waving to Anna.

"Bye!" They waved back.

Puck, the kids, Finn and Rachel left.

Mercedes blew out a breath. "I miss them already."

"I'm calling Finn every fifteen minutes." Quinn swore.

Mercedes accidentally giggled. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We can go see if everyone else left." Anna suggested. She wasn't going home for Thanksgiving either since her mother refused to let her in the house and her father was working on putting his foot down.

"Let's go." Mercedes led the way across the hall.

The entire household was in the foyer saying goodbye. Well most of them…

Marcy groaned loudly. "Would you go away?!"

"Marcy!" Ellen chastised.

"You can go, too. This is annoying and I'm sick of standing here."

Ellen pouted.

"Stop that." Marcy tapped her bottom lip. "Your parents are waiting for you. They haven't seen you since graduation. They miss you."

Ellen beamed. "Okay, this is my final goodbye."

Mal hugged her. "We'll miss you."

The twins hugged her. "Miss you, Mama!"

"Goodbye." Ellen hugged each back. "Remember to walk Ecru."

"Yeah, yeah." Marcy rolled her eyes.

"Are you ready?" Artie asked.

"Yeah." Ellen took a deep breath.

"Remember to make everything on the list!" Brittany yelled.

"We will." Mercedes hugged her.

"And you have to take pictures. To prove you did it." Brittany held her cheeks.

"Okay." Mercedes' voice came out a bit muffled because of this.

"Let's go!" Santana snapped. "I'm hungry!"

"We'll hit a drive-through on the way home. Let's ride." Artie wheeled out.

The four left amidst goodbyes.

"Hallelujah!" Marcy muttered.

Mal pinched her behind.

"Ow!" She jumped and swatted him.

"Do you want see if the others are gone?" Mercedes asked.

"Who cares?"

Mal and Quinn laughed as Mercedes pulled a face and Anna and Maddie giggled.

"I thought Kurt was taking all the rest of them home anyway? He probably already left."

"It's Kurt." Mercedes said.

"Good point. He makes Blaine wait on him forever."

"Let's just go see."

"How about we call Mikey?"

"You just don't want to leave the house!"

"See how smart you are? You're such a smart girl."

"Don't patronize me!"

Marcy patted her head and cupped her cheek.

"Stop that!"

"You're so bad." Mal grinned.

"You love it." Marcy poked Mercedes' cheek.

"I do. I do so much." He pulled her to him.

"Ew!" Maddie screwed her face up. "Are you about to kiss?!"

"Yup!" Marcy looped her arms around Mal's neck and gave him a great, big kiss.

"So gross!"

The girls giggled as Mally and Mickey hugged their kissing parents.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Happy Turkey Day!" India called out.

"Indy!" A cheer went up in the den.

"Am I late?"

"Nope." Mike got up and offered her his seat. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel so fat. How many months do I have to go?"

"Shut up. You are not fat." Marcy rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Karou teased.

India's eyes filled and her bottom lip wobbled.

Marcy hit Karou. "Don't listen to her. She's so messed up. Nobody wants her to have their baby."

"Hey!" Karou was offended.

"You made her cry." Mal glared.

Karou sulked. "I was just kidding."

"Karou didn't mean it." Mike told India. "You know she enjoys making people upset."

"Karou doesn't understand how it is to grow someone inside of her." Quinn spoke up. "She doesn't get our struggle."

"You're beautiful, Little Mama." Marcy said. "You know that, I know that, anyone with eyes knows that."

India smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"No more cry?" Mally asked.

She picked him up and hugged him, kissing his cheek. "No more crying."

"Yay." He rubbed her belly.

"I think I'm going to go see Mercy in the kitchen." She set him down.

"You're going to miss the parade." Mal protested.

"I'll be back and you can describe everything I missed." India got up and walked to the kitchen. "Hey, Mercy!"

"Hi, Indy!" Mercedes brightened.

"Hi, India." Anna spoke.

"Hello, Anna." India hugged both. "What are you doing in here?"

"Cooking up a storm!" Mercedes huffed. "Why did I say I could do all this myself?!"

"Because you're a big girl and big girls are always trying to prove themselves."

"Ain't that the truth!"

India sat at the island. "Do you want help?"

"You sit and stir this." Mercedes handed her a bowl.

India got to stirring. "You don't want to see the parade?"

"Marcy recorded it for me."

"Mal never said that!"

Mercedes giggled. "He just wanted you close!"

"He is a sweetie when he wants to be."

"That's my baby."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"I'm so glad to be out of that hot kitchen!" Mercedes hugged Quinn close.

"Are you going to say that every time Marc scores?" Quinn giggled.

"Yes, I am!" Mercedes squeezed. "It's a good luck charm!"

"Keep saying it then!" Mike was on the edge of his seat.

The game played out and it ended up in favor of the Rams. It wasn't even close.

They all jumped up, cheering.

"Alright, I have to go see about the food but keep celebrating!" Mercedes swept out.

Maddie forced her tongue between her lips as she stretched, trying to reach Mal's beer bottle.

Quinn caught her. "Maddie! What are you doing?!"

Maddie pouted. "I want to try it!"

"You're thirteen!"

"Like you haven't done stuff!"

"Stop it, Mad." Marcy chided. "You'll get beer when you're fifteen. Drink your champagne."

Maddie sulked as she sipped her sparkling champagne. "You're mean!"

"Shut up!"

Maddie made a strangled noise low in her throat.

"Marce." Mal tried not to laugh.

"You shut up, too." Marcy crossed her legs.

Mal pulled on her hand and placed a kiss on her lips.

She hit him. Making Maddie gag was one thing; actually showing affection in front of people would not be happening.

He kissed her again.

She hit him twice.

"You're going to give the twins the wrong idea about affection." Mike drawled.

"Bite me."

"I'll do it." Mal tucked her under his arm.

She moved but he pulled her back and wrapped all of his limbs around her. "Would you quit, Octopus?!"

"I can't help it. You're so soft."

"I'm going to hurt you."

He kissed her cheek then unfurled before running off to the kitchen.

"Do you love Daddy?" Marcy asked the twins.

They nodded.

"You don't want him."

Quinn and Karou laughed.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Wow, Merce." Mike was surprised at the spread. "You really cooked!"

She beamed. "Thank you! How about we dig in?"

They all sat around the dining room tables and Mike said the blessing before they started passing around bowls and platters with food.

They began talking over the game and generally how they were. They spoke about school and work and their relationships. They had a great time and ate until they were overfed and happy.

After, they all helped wash dishes, clean the kitchen and dining room and put away food.

"Come on, India. I'll drive you home." Mike patted his pockets for his keys.

"Mikey, that's not necessary-"

"You are going to let me drive you home." He interrupted India.

"Yes, Mikey." She sighed. "Thank you."

"Say your goodbyes."

She went around saying goodbye to her relatives while he did the same. Both put on their shoes and left.

"As funny as that was, I'm beat and we need to put the twins down." Marcy hooked a thumb at the door.

"See you in the morning?" Mercedes wanted to check. They had taken a break earlier to walk the dogs so they would be good until morning.

"Yeah. See ya." Marcy picked up Mickey.

Mal scooped up Mally and used him to hug his older sisters. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye, my Mally Wallie." Mercedes cooed.

"Mercy!" He blushed.

"Shut up!" Quinn hit him upside the head. "You're lucky she loves you!"

"I could say that same about you, train wreck!" He clutched his head.

She growled at him as Karou and Maddie laughed.

"Come on here, devil boy." Marcy was beyond amused but you couldn't tell by her blank face or dry voice.

He walked backwards until he bumped into her. "Watch my back."

"Then how would they plunge a knife in it?"

He looked at her but she kept her blank expression. "Humph!"

Karou laughed. "I gotta go, too. I'll see you in the morning, Cuzes."

"Bye, Rou!" Mercedes and Quinn blew kisses.

"Bye, guys." Maddie hugged her sisters. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Come on our walk with us." Mercedes invited.

"There's no school tomorrow. I'm sleeping in."

Marcy laughed. "Come on."

And they all left.

"What do you want to do now?" Quinn asked. She accidentally yawned. "Oh no! I guess that means I should be heading to bed now?"

"Probably." Mercedes kissed her cheek. "You go to sleep and I'll stay up and wait for Mikey to get home."

"What if he texts Marcy instead?"

"She better tell me!"

Quinn giggled. "Night, Sissy. Goodnight, Anna."

"Goodnight, Quinn." Anna waved.

Quinn floated upstairs.

Mercedes went around fixing up the house before grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and taking it to the bedroom.

Anna followed silently.

Mercedes began going through her routine. She removed the makeup from her face then brushed her teeth all the times before washing her face twice.

She then took a shower and put on pyjamas (it was getting colder). After, she wrapped up her hair, put away her jewelry and took her medicine.

She climbed in bed and waited for Anna to finish in the bathroom. Her phone went off. It was Mike saying that India was safe in her home and that he was on his way back.

She texted him that she was staying up for him and when he texted back for her to go to sleep, she went _off_ on him.

He quickly texted back "okay" to keep her from sending more rapid fire texts.

She sat against the pillows as Anna came in. "I'm cold."

"Do you want me to turn the heat up?" Anna turned towards the door.

"No, honey. I want you to come warm me up."

"Oh." Anna's eyes suddenly widened as she got it. "Oh!"

Mercedes pushed the covers back for Anna to climb in. She patted the bed.

Anna climbed inside. "Hi."

Mercedes kissed her. "Hi."

Anna hugged her. "I like being with you this way."

"What way is that?"

"After a holiday in our own home."

Mercedes rubbed her nose against Anna's. "I love it, too."

Anna pulled the covers up to their necks.

Mercedes laughed. "You're so silly!"

Anna beamed.

Mercedes was going to reach for her but her phone went off. She checked the message but was confused about a few things.

One was how Mike had made it home so fast. Two was how similar she and Marcy were. Apparently Mike texted Marcy that he was home and she told him he was interrupting.

Mercedes was going to text him back demanding answers but her girlfriend was very alluring. She set her phone on the nightstand.

She'd call him tomorrow…


	27. Chapter27

"I'm so happy to be home!" Mercedes took off her shoes.

"You were gone for two days." Puck pointed out.

"So?! I'm glad to be home now!"

"Okay…"

Quinn giggled. "I'm so glad Marc was able to make it. I missed him so much."

"I wish we could've seen him." Finn sulked.

"It was family time. Like what you had during Thanksgiving."

He pouted.

She hugged him. "You'll see him again."

"Mommy?" Beth pulled on Quinn's dress.

"Yes, Beth?"

"Picture?"

"You want to take more pictures?"

"Yeah!" Beth brightened.

"Okay, let's see if Tio Mal will take pictures of us!"

"Take Rae." Mercedes gave the baby up. "I have to see about the details of her party."

"Mama, she's turning one." Puck protested.

"Yeah and we have to celebrate."

"Please don't go overboard." He begged.

"When have I ever gone overboard?"

"Not a lot but you have."

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, Rachel, Annie. We've a party to plan."

Puck watched the trio go deeper into the apartment and the animals run inside. "She's going to plan some kind of extra crazy party, isn't she?"

"Probably." Finn watched Quinn and Beth go next door. "I should go see Marcy."

"Why?" Puck looked at him.

"Band stuff."

Hurt colored Puck's tone. "Oh."

Finn felt bad but he was forgiven. He didn't even want to do it in the first place. "See you."

"See ya."

 ** _M-A-P_**

"So what'd you do?"

Mike looked at Puck. "What?"

"This weekend when you went home. What'd you do?"

"Didn't Mercy tell you?" Mike was confused.

"She said it was a Christmas tradition but never got around to what it actually was."

"Didn't you notice last year?"

"Notice what?"

Mike sighed heavily. Puck would miss his own funeral. "Every year on the first weekend of December, we take our holiday pictures and put up decorations."

"Holiday pictures?"

"You've never taken a holiday portrait?"

Puck thought back. "Nope."

"Wow." Mike refocused on the game.

"Is that bad?"

"Why would it be bad? It's just weird."

"What holiday?"

"Mostly Christmas but there's a few other holidays in December."

"Do you wear ugly Christmas sweaters?"

"What? No. Why would we wear ugly Christmas sweaters?"

"A lot of people do that. It's supposed to be funny or whatever."

"Yeah, no. We might have fun at the shoot but it's serious business. Our family sees these pictures."

"Why'd you decorate your parents' home but not here?"

"We're going to decorate! Can we have a minute?!"

"Sorry." Puck mumbled.

"Puck." Mike sighed. "What's going on? Why'd you really want to play video games?"

"I like video games…"

"That's not why." Mike eyed him.

Puck began squirming. "Geez! Why do you have that look?!"

"What look?" Mike frowned.

"Mama's I-expect-you-to-do-better look!" Puck hid his face.

Mike pulled a face. "Because she's always giving it to me. Now do better and tell me what's up."

Puck sighed heavily and looked down at his hands. "Mini Mama's starting a band."

"Why do you say that?"

"Finn told me she asked him to be drummer. And Sam to be guitarist. Not me."

"Are you jealous of Sam?"

Puck looked up, surprised by the support he heard in his friend's voice. "Yeah. I think I am. I thought that was over when I got Mama. Evans don't have anything I want. I thought."

"You miss Marcy."

He looked away with a scowl. "Yeah."

Mike gave a light smirk. "Why don't you just apologize?"

"Why? She's forgiven everyone except me!"

"One, maybe they've all apologized? Two, she hasn't forgiven Artie."

"She hasn't?" Puck's face lit up.

"You're not supposed to be happy about that." Mike warned.

But Puck wasn't listening. "I just gotta get her to forgive me before him!"

Mike sighed again. It wasn't his problem. Marcy wasn't mad at him. He wondered if he should warn Puck but he didn't listen the first time; why would he now?

So Mike kept his mouth shut.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Happy birthday, Rae." Mercedes kissed the baby awake.

Raven fought it like her mother.

Mercedes continued kissing her.

Eventually Raven awakened and yawned.

Mercedes swung her into a dance. "Happy birthday, Rae-Rae. Mommy has special stuff planned for you."

Raven gurgled.

Mercedes sat down to feed her. "I got the best for you-"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Kurt adjusted his tie one last time and left his room. "Come on, Tina Cohen-Chang! Mike's not going to wait on you forever!"

"Hey! I was waiting on you!" Tina left her room to shout.

"That was your first mistake." Blaine muttered, letting them know he and Mike were near.

Tina threw herself onto Mike. "You waited anyway!"

"I'll always wait for you, T." Mike wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't promise that!" Blaine hissed with a pointed look at his beau.

Kurt set a fist on his hip with a scowl. "I don't take that long!"

"We're the last ones to leave! As usual! We're going to be late! As usual!"

"Oh, calm down! We'll get there soon enough!"

"Kurt,-!"

"Blaine, I'm almost ready!"

"Almost?!" Blaine, Tina and Mike echoed.

"I just have to do one or two more things!" Kurt promised.

Mike grimaced. "We'll see you guys there."

Kurt deflated. "You're not gonna wait?"

"Rae's been fussy all day. I can calm her down. Mercy needs me." Mike put delicately, technically not lying.

"You should go then."

"Okay! Let's go, T!" Mike pulled her out.

"Bye, Kurt! Bye, Blaine!" Tina skipped to keep up with Mike:

"Don't leave me with-! _him_ …" Blaine sighed deeply.

Kurt smiled. "I promise! It won't take more than a couple minutes! Five, ten tops! No more than half an hour!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

The doors opened and there Mercedes was, carrying the birthday girl in her pretty dark blue gown. Mercedes walked down the gold carpeting with a spotlight on her and went to the stage set up.

She tapped the microphone and looked over the old warehouse that was decorated to look like a magnificent theater. "Rae and I would like to thank you all for coming. It's not everyday that someone turns a year old and her parents and I are so happy for her milestone.

Please enjoy yourselves and later on, we'll be entertained by opera superstar, Nanette Bell. Have fun!"

Puck went up to her and helped her off stage. "This isn't going overboard?"

"No! Shut up!" She hissed.

He took Raven from her and kissed her cheek. Raven squealed loudly and reached for him. "I'll go get her something to eat."

"Don't let her stuff her mouth, Noah." Mercedes lectured as she waved to party guests.

"I'm not gon let her choke."

"Noah, watch her. She-"

"Mama." He kissed her. "Relax. I'll keep Rae safe and happy. You go around and do- what you do."

"Don't forget to let her get as many pictures as the photographer will take. I used the same one Marcy used for the twins' party and he's supposed to be very good."

"I got it." He let Raven kiss Mercedes.

Mercedes smiled. "Okay, baby. Have fun."

Raven clapped.

Puck walked off, hoisting Raven high and delighting in her giggles.

Mercedes wiped her hands down her own violet gown. The theme of the party was a night at the opera and she felt she'd mastered that (with help from her sisters).

She went to pick up an appetizer before working the room. She'd invited everyone from Mommy and Me and a few people from the park. With all of their friends and these new people, there was quite the crush.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mercedes tickled Raven. "Blow out the candle, Rae!"

Raven stared at her.

"Blow!" Mercedes blew on her hand.

Raven moved her hand then touched her mother's lips.

Mercedes kissed her fingers. "Blow, baby. You can do it."

"Gimme my niece!" Mike walked over and took Raven from her. He put his cheek to hers and blew. Raven mimicked his mouth movements and both blew out the single candle on the deep dish pizza (even though it was mostly Mike). "That's my girl!"

Mercedes pulled on his suit jacket and took Raven back. "Here. You cut it." She handed him the knife.

"So I can cut _my_ self?"

Mercedes bubbled up with giggles. "Shut up and take this knife!"

"Alright, Puck, you better cut my kids' pie!"

Puck chuckled.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Happy birthday!" Anna crawled onto Puck.

He peeled open an eye. "Thanks, Kick."

"What are you going to do?"

"Roll over and go back to sleep."

"No! I meant what are you going to do for your birthday! You won't tell us anything!"

"That's cuz it's a secret." He tapped her nose.

"Why?" She whined.

 _Because I hope it will make Mini Mama forgive me_. He grinned. "You'll see. But we can eat dinner together."

"Not that I'm not still mad at you but I am cooking you a huge birthday dinner." Mercedes finished writing in her journal. Dr. Jackson (and now Dr. Cook) encouraged the Fabanges and Puck to write down when they went to sleep and when they awakened.

"Thanks, Mama."

"Don't thank me."

He chuckled. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

Anna set her chin on his chest. "You should come walking with us one day. It's fun."

"It's fun picking up dog shit?"

"Noah!" Both girls groaned.

"Well you are."

"Ugh!" Mercedes rolled her eyes as she stood. "Come on, Annie! We don't have to take this!"

Anna laughed as she climbed over Puck and went to their girlfriend. They disappeared into the bathroom.

Puck yawned and dropped his head back onto his pillow. He wasn't telling them his plans for the day because if it didn't work out, he didn't want them angry at him all over again.

But he couldn't think like that. It had to work.

 _ **M-A-P**_

Mal blinked. "What?"

"I want to do something tonight." Puck repeated.

"For your birthday?"

"Yeah." Puck nodded.

"Please tell me this is non-sexual and you aren't asking for what I asked for on my birthday."

"What? What?! What?!" That last "what?!" was asked with amusement. "What'd you ask for? Did you get it?"

Mal grinned before wiping it off his face. "What exactly are you asking for and why?"

"I want to go out. Just us guys."

"Uh… cool? Why come in person? You coulda just texted."

Puck pointed to the closed door of Mal's place. "Because I mean _all_ of the guys."

"You mean Marcy." Now it was Mal's turn to have an amused smile on his face.

Puck grimaced. "Yeah. Think her and K-Easy will come?"

"I don't know." Mal was tickled pink. "She's pretty mad at you."

"I know, dude! I never woulda done it if I knew it'd cause all this drama!"

Mal gave him a look. "I told you-!"

"Yeah, yeah. You said it was going to get serious, not that she'd freeze me out!"

"Freeze you out?"

"I mean-! be really mad." Puck lied.

Mal raised a brow.

"Alright! It's like she's just mad at me and I know she supposed to still be mad at Wheels but I don't see that. I just know she's pissed at me and I don't want her to be anymore."

Mal could see how broken up he was about it. "You know that just because she forgives you, it doesn't mean she's not going to get you back. She just got Sam."

"What'd she do to Evans?"

"Apparently he's afraid of bugs? Now he's afraid of being buried alive. With bugs."

Puck's eyes widened. "What?"

"Oh yeah. She has no sense of humor." Mal repeated.

"I'm- I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"Maybe?"

"Can you try to get her to come? We're just goin to watch sports at BDubs."

"I'll ask."

Puck sighed. "Thanks." He went back across the hall and let himself in. He hoped Mal would and could talk her into coming. He would never pull another prank on her as long as he lived as long as she forgave him.

 ** _M-A-P_**

Puck brightened when he saw Marcy stepping off the elevator with Mal, Artie and Karou. She came. "Hey!"

She raised a brow but remained quiet.

He faltered. Would she not talk at all during the evening?

"Hey, Moppet." Mike hugged her.

"Hi, Mikey!" Marcy held him tightly.

"Hey, Marcy." Sam, Finn and Blaine nodded to her.

"Hey." She let Mike go.

"Arnold, Matt and Jude are going to meet us there." Puck said, hoping for a hint of _something_.

And he got it. She smiled at the mention of her towheaded bestie.

He took it and turned towards the doors. "Let's go."

They all left the building and went to the nearest Buffalo Wild Wings. They went inside and saw Arnold at a table big enough for all of them.

Karou went to him immediately and sat on his lap, attaching her face to his.

"Cuz we didn't want to speak to him." Marcy pushed Mal to a seat and sat on his lap.

"You're alright." Karou detached long enough to say.

"We can follow suit." Mal offered.

Marcy just stared at him.

"Just a few inches."

"…"

Blaine laughed. "I don't think she wants to."

Mal kissed her covered arm.

She wrapped that arm around his neck. He thought for sure she was going to squeeze but she didn't. "I want root beer."

"We can do that." Puck said quickly. "A round of root beer?"

"I don't want root beer." Finn made the mistake of opening his mouth. The way Puck was looking at him made him add, "Without foam. I don't want root beer without foam."

"A round of root beer sounds great." Blaine knew he was eating crow and would help. He didn't like his friends all stirred up. He wasn't used to drama (besides his family's) and really didn't want it in his circle of friends.

A waitress showed up and took their orders. Even though Puck and Finn ate beforehand, they were still hungry.

Karou almost missed the question until she realized a young beautiful woman was speaking to her. She tossed her hair with a bright smile and completely flirted with her while on her boyfriend's lap.

The woman was flustered and nearly dropped her notepad.

Arnold was… not amused.

Marcy clicked her tongue and the waitress jumped. She turned to her and Marcy told her what Karou would have (a salad like herself) and smiled becomingly at her. The woman blushed and fled.

Mal swatted Marcy's bottom. "Stop that!"

"I just stopped her from giving that poor girl hope." Marcy leaned against his chest.

"Hope?!" Karou snapped. "I did no such thing!"

"You kinda did." Artie pointed out. "But Boo Thang did, too."

"What?! I did not!" Marcy yelped.

"You made her blush." Sam flinched.

"She's shy."

"How do you know?" Artie sassed.

"Shut up!"

"Why would you do that?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah! Why would you do that?!" Karou set a fist on her hips.

"I'm talking to you."

Karou gasped.

"He's talking to you, rat fink." Marcy glared.

"And I'm talking to you." Mal prodded her. "Stop flirting."

"I don't flirt!" She was offended to her core.

"I'm very upset with you." Arnold told Karou.

"Why? She's pretty, I'm pretty. It's what I do." The brunette shrugged lightly.

"It really is." Artie winked.

Arnold glared at him. "You have two women! Leave mine alone!"

"You have two women." Artie pointed out.

"Shut up and stop flirting with my woman!"

"Ooh!" Karou cupped Arnold's face with her hands. "I love this side to you! Say it again!"

"What?!"

"Special K, you a freak!" Artie grinned.

Arnold tried his best to glare at him.

Karou kissed him and he forgot all about his cousin. "Hmmm! I love it when you get all caveman!"

Arnold growled playfully.

"Ooh. Talk about ya freaks." Marcy raised her brows.

"You're gonna see a freak if you don't stop flirting." Mal told her.

She kissed him.

He raised _his_ brows. "What was that?"

"Shut up." She kissed him again.

He deepened the kiss.

"Ow!" Artie catcalled.

Marcy pulled back. "Bite me."

"Can I?"

"Nope! Britt will split her wig and Tana will cry. One's funny as the other is just sad."

"I'm scared to ask which one is which…"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Puck waited for the perfect time to approach Marcy. It was just when she announced she was going for a smoke that he saw his opportunity.

She stood up and put on her coat. "Who's coming with me?"

He waited for her to turn around to glare at everyone else. Mike and Mal were amused and planned to eavesdrop while the rest scowled at Puck.

She turned back around. "You're really going to make me go outside by myself in the most dangerous city in the world at night?"

"Who are you scared of?!" Artie shook his head.

"You would know better than anyone that I get scared." She walked out.

He sulked.

"Be careful." Mal warned Puck.

Who nodded and stood. "I got this."

"Good luck!" Artie called out.

Puck shouldered his overcoat on and followed behind Marcy. He found her on the sidewalk sparking up. He ambled over slowly. "Hey?"

She looked up at him like she didn't know him before turning away and blowing out smoke.

"I know you're mad at me-"

"You think I'm mad at you?" She whipped around.

"Well yeah. Aren't you? I mean we did scare you-"

" _You_ \- _you_ scared me." She stabbed a finger in his direction.

"But the others-"

"Didn't want to do it. They hated the pranks but would have let me keep going but you- you and Artie couldn't let it be. You plotted and planned like I was an archenemy in a superhero movie. I was feeling lousy and I love Halloween. I just wanted to have fun with my friends but you couldn't let me do that! You more than those other guys know the shit I've had to deal with but…"

He watched her glare at him. "I'm sorry. I- I never thought about why you were doing it. I just hate looking stupid and you kept gettin me. I-I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I know how hard you have it-"

"No, you don't." Marcy shook her head. "Nobody knows."

"Alright. I know some of the shit you have to deal with and it sucks. I know that. I guess the pranks was just your way of not tripping because you go through so much. I was being an ass. I don't know how to apologize enough."

"It's not quantity, Puck. It's quality."

"You mean a lot to me." He spoke quickly, trying not to think too long and going from his gut. "You were team Puckcedes when nobody but my family was. You tried so hard to get us together and gave me great advice. You're always on my team when it comes to doing what's right for your sister.

You even helped when it came to Kick, who was seriously lost. You don't act like it but you're seriously a good person. You're a good friend- a great friend.

And I was a shitty one. If someone did to me what we did to you, I'd have to go to prison for murder. As it is, I don't know why that clown ain't pressed charges. We fucked him over, too.

But we're supposed to be better than that. You get me like nobody else do. I mean we both have parental issues and got a huge chip on our shoulders, pissed at the world-"

"Get to the point!"

"Yeah, we're a lot alike. We're badasses and we both love Mama to the moon and back. I took that for granted. I really am sorry."

She blew out smoke. "The pranks were annoying."

"I would go through all of them and more if you'd just talk to me."

"Puck? We are talking."

"I mean really talk to me. You haven't called me 'Zilla since before. I miss it."

She firmed her lips. "You know that even if I do forgive you, I'm still getting you back."

"I'll take it." He said instantly.

"Even knowing that it's going to be seriously messed up?"

He gulped. "That's my problem. I'll get over it."

"You just want Mercy to stop being mad at you."

"I don't think she's really all that mad anymore. But even if she was, no."

"What if I say no? That I don't forgive you?"

He deflated. "I'll just keep apologizing. It's all I got."

"Well I don't want it."

He winced.

"Friends shouldn't have to grovel."

"What?" He frowned.

"You don't have to demean yourself, 'Zilla. I forgive you."

"You forgive-? You called me 'Zilla!" He rushed her and gave her a big hug, lifting her up.

"Put me down!"

He set her on her feet but still embraced her. "Ahhh!"

"Stop touching me!"

He let her go. "Thanks, Mini Mama! You won't regret this!"

"You will." She promised.

He shook his head. He didn't care what she did to him. He got his Mini Mama back!


	28. Chapter28

"Hey, Sis." Marcy walked into the kitchen. "You're making cookies!"

"Yeah!" Mercedes cheered. "You made other things so I'm making other things!"

"You copy cat." Marcy sat at the island. "So I'm guessing Puckerman told you about last night?"

"He woke us up to tell us." She smiled. "Thank you for forgiving him."

"Eh!" Marcy set her chin in her hand and her elbow on the island top. "What I'm going to do to him won't feel very forgiving."

"Do you already know what you're going to do to him?"

"Yup."

"What is it?"

"Nope."

"I won't tell!" Mercedes stamped a foot.

"Yes, you will. It's a reason why we don't tell you things."

"That's hurtful! I can keep secrets!"

"No, you can't. But that's okay. You get it from Laura."

"I do not! I can so!"

Marcy just shrugged. "Sam, Finn and I found a horn player."

"You're really going to change the subject on me?"

"I'm pleased with this turn of events. He's a trumpet player and is in his thirties with kids. He's a real cool guy and really chill. I like him a lot."

"Do Sam and Finn?"

"They say they do. So along with the sax player I found, we only need a bassist."

"What about a pianist?"

"That's what I'm going to do. I can handle being behind a piano."

"Oh really? Like Freddie Mercury? I see you."

"And I see these treats. Can I have a cookie?"

"Sure." Mercedes finished taking the cookies off the rack and packing them up. "I'm going to send these all over."

Marcy picked up a raspberry thumbprint cookie and bit into it. It tasted a bit different but very delicious. "Who all are you giving them to? Is it for Christmas?"

"I don't know." Mercedes started cleaning the rack so she could put the cookies coming out of the oven onto it. "I was thinking yes but that's so cheap."

"No." Marcy's breath came out choppy and short. She blinked but she felt like she had vertigo. "Merce?" She wheezed.

So quietly Mercedes didn't hear her. Mercedes pulled the fresh cookies from the oven and set them on the island before looking at her sister and gasping. "Marcy?!"

Marcy was fighting for air and held the counter on a death grip to keep from sliding to the floor. Too bad she was getting weaker and weaker as the shock set in. She ended up slipping to the floor.

Mercedes ran around the island and dropped to her knees. Not only could Marcy not breathe but she had red patches all over her skin, which had gone quite pale. "Marcy?! Marcy, what's wrong?!"

Marcy gasped out and swung her arm, trying to tell Mercedes to get her Epi-pen.

Mercedes didn't get it at all. Marcy was just hitting her leg. "What are you doing?! How can I help you?!"

Marcy kept hitting her thigh until that became too much for her and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Mercedes freaked out and reached for her phone. She dialed 911 immediately. "Hello?! My sister is sick, I think!"

"Please take a deep breath and explain what's going on." The operator said.

"We're in the kitchen and we were talking when all of a sudden she just started choking. She's got all these red marks on her and now she's passed out."

"What's your address?"

Mercedes gave it along with the apartment number.

"Help is on the way. What were you doing leading up to her choking?"

"I was baking cookies and she-"

"She what?"

"She ate one." Mercedes popped up to scour the island. Sure enough, one of the _strawberry_ thumbprint cookies was missing. "Oh my goodness!"

"What's going on? Ma'am? Ma'am?"

"She ate a strawberry cookie! She's allergic to strawberries!"

"Have you administered the Epi-pen?"

"No. I don't even know where it is."

"Can you think of where she'd keep it?"

"Probably her purse but I don't know where it is."

"Help is on the way."

Loud knocking sounded at the door. Mercedes went to see who it was. Thankfully, it was paramedics. "She's in the kitchen!"

They rushed into the kitchen and began performing different tests on Marcy.

"She ate something she's allergic to." Mercedes said.

They gave Marcy a shot of adrenaline. "We gotta get her to the hospital."

Mercedes started crying.

"Ma'am, are you riding along?"

She nodded. "I just have to turn the ovens off."

They nodded. "Hurry. She doesn't have much time."

Mercedes quickly turned the ovens off and grabbed her coat and purse, shoving her feet into shoes. She locked up behind herself and caught up to the EMTs at the elevator.

She briefly wondered if anyone was at home at Marcy's but she didn't want to leave her sister's side.

 _ **M-A-P**_

Mercedes heard a loud commotion and whistled. It had to be her family and friends. No one else was that loud. "Guys!"

And she was right. The group made their way over to her. "What happened?!"

"I almost killed her." Mercedes started crying again.

"Mama." Puck went to her and held her gently. "I'm sure you didn't-"

"I did! I did!" She nodded miserably. "I made strawberry cookies! Who makes strawberry thumbprint cookies?!"

"I don't get it." Finn admitted. "Is she allergic to strawberry?"

"Yes!"

Mal broke through the crowd and took her from Puck. He held her close and just let her cry.

"She's going to be alright, isn't she?" Brittany worried.

"The doctor told me how close it was." Mercedes sniffled. "If they hadn't gotten there in time,-…"

"But they did." Mike assured her. "She's going to be okay."

"This is the second time she's been in the hospital in six months!"

"Mercy, you have to calm down." Quinn told her. "We don't want to freak her out."

Mercedes nodded and tried to pull herself together. "Okay."

"How about we go and pick out a stuffed animal in the gift-shop?" Jude suggested.

Mercedes took his proffered arm.

"We should go in shifts." Artie said quietly. "I'd like to get her something."

"Me too." The others murmured.

"Mommy sick again?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, Mommy's sick again." Mal sat down and pulled her onto his lap.

"Why?"

"She ate something that made her sick." Quinn explained.

"Food make you sick?!" Mally didn't like that.

"For me and Mommy, yes." Mal told him.

Mally was too hurt.

So was Finn. "This just blows!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

Mike peeked around the door and brightened when he saw Marcy in the bed. "Hey! Are you awake?"

She peeled her eyes open and yawned cutely before waving him in.

"Everyone's with me." He opened the door wider.

She smiled as they all burst in, talking at once.

"Are you alright?!" Brittany demanded.

Marcy nodded.

"Why won't she talk? Why won't you talk?!" Ellen was freaked out.

Marcy crooked her finger at her to make her come near. She pulled on her hand and kissed her gently.

"You look good, BT." Artie lied. Marcy still had red patches on her yellow skin.

She gave him a look. It was one of gratitude.

"How did it feel?" Jade asked.

"Jade?!" Khandi was super embarrassed.

"I'm just asking!"

"Do you want us to leave, brah?" Jude inquired softly. "You must be tired."

Marcy shook her head.

"You don't want us to leave?" Sam was confused. "Last time you didn't want us anywhere near you."

She pointed to him. When he came closer, she took the stuffed lion he held. She hugged it to her chest with a smile.

"You're feeling much better, aren't you?" Yuria guessed.

Marcy nodded.

"Good." Quinn sat on the bed with Beth. "Because you ruined all of our days."

Marcy stretched out a foot to tap her gently.

"Mommy feel better?" Mally wanted to know.

Marcy reached out for him and Mal gave him up. She hugged him tightly and ran her lips over his cheek while he giggled.

"You're still not talking." Ellen pouted.

Marcy reached for her phone and shot her a text, explaining that she couldn't. She could barely breathe on her own.

"We should go. Who do you want to stay up here with you?"

Marcy shook her head and waved them all away.

"Someone should really stay with you." Mal told her.

Marcy thought about it before pointing to Sam.

Mal's brows came together. "No."

She stuck out her bottom lip.

"No!"

She pointed to Finn.

"Why?"

"Mal!" Quinn fussed. "Leave her alone!"

He growled.

Marcy pointed to both Sam and Finn. Then she waved goodbye to everyone else. She kissed her babies and sat back against her pillows.

Finn and Sam took seats while everyone left, calling out well wishes and goodnights. Mal made sure to kiss Marcy extra hard.

When everyone was gone, the two boys leaned forward. "What are we going to do all night?"

Marcy smiled.

 ** _M-A-P_**

"MercyCat?" Anna asked softly.

"What?" Mercedes rocked Raven gently.

"You're crying."

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah, you are." Puck took Raven from her (after a bit of a tussle).

"Fine! I am." She sniffled loudly.

"Why? Are you upset about Mini Mama? She's fine."

"She-!" Mercedes stood from the rocking chair and left the room.

Puck set Raven in her crib and covered her with sheets before taking Anna's hand and following their upset girlfriend. "Mama!"

"Noah, I don't want to talk about this." Mercedes went to the kitchen and began cleaning up, no longer in the mood to make cookies.

"I think you should." Anna spoke quietly. "You're obviously hurting-"

"I am not!"

"Can you give us a few minutes?" Quinn's voice scared the room's occupants.

"I don't know, Quinn." Anna wasn't sure.

"Go on. I'll help her clean."

"But-" Puck protested.

"Go on."

Puck and Anna looked at each other before facing Mercedes. "We'll be ready for you." He said.

Mercedes ignored him.

The two left and Quinn came to stand next to Mercedes. The blonde began putting up cookies.

"You're not going to say anything?!" Mercedes slammed down her container.

"Like what?" Quinn put away more cookies.

"She almost died, Lucy! Again!"

"I know. We all know."

"That doesn't bother you?!"

"I had myself a cry but now that I'm thinking straight, I know that although she could have died, she didn't."

"But she almost did! Thanks to me." Mercedes slumped against the counter.

"Mercy, it wasn't your fault. It was an accident." Quinn went to her and pulled her into a hug.

"It was my fault!" Mercedes said tearfully. "I knew I made those cookies with strawberries and I didn't warn her. I know she loves raspberry thumbprint cookies."

"There's nothing I can tell you that you don't already know. You're just going to punish yourself until Marcy comes home."

"It's what I deserve."

"Don't make me go get Mikey."

Mercedes pouted and remained quiet.

"Oh, Mercy. You'll see tomorrow. I promise no one blames you."

"Do you think she blames me?"

"Do you need a sleeping pill?"

Mercedes frowned. "I bet she does. I would."

"I'm getting you a sleeping pill."

"I might need one."

"Okay, I'll get you one." Quinn set Mercedes away from her. "But no more blaming yourself. I mean it!"

"Fine."

 ** _M-A-P_**

Quinn checked the time again. "Where are they?!"

"Maybe she had to stay longer?!" Mercedes fretted. "She's sicker than they said and she can't come home!"

Beth's eyes widened. "Huh?!"

"Tia Me didn't mean that!" Quinn glared at Mercedes. "She's just scared and staying the wrong thing."

"Mama." Puck rebuked.

Mercedes sniffled. "I'm sorry, Beth. I shouldn't have said that."

"Is Tia May gonna die?" Beth asked her mother.

"Of course not, honey." Quinn picked her up.

"I think I hear something!" Rachel spoke quickly.

They all rushed the front door and opened it.

Marcy was coming down the hall with Finn. Both were smiling and held Slurpee cups.

"Marcy!" Quinn strode out and took her little sister's arm. "Tell Mercy you're fine!"

Marcy raised an eyebrow.

"Mercy blames herself."

"It's my fault!" Mercedes burst into tears. "I gave you a death cookie and you almost died!"

Beth began crying and Raven obviously didn't want to be left out because she started crying, too.

Puck and Quinn tried to soothe the children and Mercedes while Anna and Finn tried to soothe everyone.

Marcy looked at Rachel, who was bewildered by all this. Marcy put her fingers in her mouth. Rachel looked at her oddly until she realized Marcy wanted her to whistle. So she did. Sharply.

Marcy put a hand on Mercedes' shoulder and looked her deep in the eyes before saying achingly slow, incredibly creaky and hauntingly rusty, "I'm fine."

"Listen to you!" Mercedes blubbered. "I can't believe I did this to you!"

"It was a cookie. Chill out."

"Chill out?! Chill out?!"

"Bye." Marcy rolled her eyes and turned to her apartment.

"Wait! So you're really not mad at me?"

"I am now."

"But I hurt you?"

Marcy looked back at her with annoyance clear on her face.

"So you really don't hate me?"

The look didn't change.

Mercedes took a deep breath. "Okay. I guess I'll stop feeling guilty."

Marcy nodded before unlocking her door. She hurried to close it behind her so the multitude of animals didn't escape.

"Are you really going to stop blaming yourself?" Quinn raised a brow at her twin.

"Yes." Mercedes spoke petulantly.

"Good. I skipped my first class for this so I need to hurry so I can make the next one. Go to class, Mercy."

"Fine. I will."

"Come on, Beth. Papa and I will take you to school."

 ** _M-A-Pish_**

Marcy moved deeper into the house and went to the kitchen. She had to change clothes, having to wear a doctor's scrubs home in lieu of her own ruined dress from the day before but she wanted to see if anyone was up and around.

Boy, were they!

Mal and Ellen immediately ran to her and hugged her. The twins screamed at being stuck in their high-chairs and unable to do the same.

"Fine." Marcy croaked out.

"I know you're fine." Mal kissed her quickly.

She swatted him.

He smiled. That proved how fine she was.

"I never want to see you in the hospital again!" Ellen sobbed.

Marcy patted her back with a pained expression.

"You're really fine?" Brittany took her hug next.

Marcy nodded.

"Good."

"I don't ever want to see another hospital as long as I live." Santana blew out a breath as she wiped away tears.

Marcy pointedly looked at her stomach.

"I'm having a home-birth if I have to!"

Marcy raised an amused eyebrow before moving past all of them to the island, where the high-chairs were. She kissed both of her kids, who were just so glad she was home.

"Who do you want to stay home with you today?" Mal asked.

She threw him a you-must-be-mad look. She shook her head.

"Someone is staying home with you." He geared up for this fight.

She pointed to herself then the floor before shaking her head and her finger.

"Oh yes, you are!" He correctly deduced that she didn't want to stay home. "You got out of the hospital twenty minutes ago!"

Marcy let the twins down then raised an exasperated brow at them attaching themselves to her legs. She shook her head and moved slowly out of the kitchen.

Everyone followed her.

"You cannot be this stubborn!" Mal yelled.

"Mal, don't yell at her!" Ellen worried.

Marcy detached the twins from her legs so she could go up the stairs.

Mal shook his fist at her back. "I'm going to yell! I'm going to keep yelling until she gets in the bed and stops this foolishness!"

"Marcy, please reconsider!" Ellen begged.

Marcy continued up the steps and went to their room to wash. She purposely locked the bathroom door.

The twins cried outside of it as Mal pounded on the door. "You stop that right now!"

Ellen wrapped herself around Mal. "Maybe getting angry isn't working?"

He blew out a hot breath before counting to ten mentally. Nope! He was still pissed. So he counted until he was calm. Which coincided with Marcy leaving the bathroom. "I would appreciate it if you would stay home."

Marcy lifted a thumb before moving to the closet. She didn't lock this door but she wished she would have. Mal, Ellen and the twins came right on in.

She put on underwear as discretely as she could with her children watching then sat at her vanity to put on lotion, powder and fragrance.

"You cannot ignore me just because you don't like what I'm saying." Mal stated calmly.

Marcy popped up to go to her clothes and pulled out a pair of jeans to slip them on. She found a tee shirt and pulled it on before finding a hoodie and tunneling inside it.

He was getting upset again. "Stop that!"

She took her shower cap off and shook her hair out before going to put on jewelry and slapping on the bare minimum of makeup. She kissed Mickey to share her lipstick.

"Woman, listen to me!" Mal exploded.

Marcy went to him and kissed him. Kissed him the way she didn't in front of other people, wouldn't have if anyone else was there but she showed him affection in front of Ellen and the twins.

He relaxed and kissed her back, banding him strong arms around her thick waist.

She pulled away and nipped at his lips before rubbing the crown of her head against his chin.

He was finally calm the way Ellen wanted him to be. "Please stay home."

"I'm fine." Marcy croaked.

"But-!"

She held his chin between her fingers and implored him to read her eyes. "I'm fine."

He sighed deeply. "I should follow you all day."

She pinched his cheek.

"Please take it easy at least."

She held up her thumb with a bright smile.

He let her go, against his better judgement (which was to lock her in their room). "I guess I should get to class."

She nodded and turned to Ellen. She kissed the redhead before kissing the twins and grabbing a pair of cute-but-useless-in-snow boots (it was unbearably cold yet no snow was on the ground). She blew out.

"I'm proud of you." Ellen told Mal. "I fully expected you to chain her to the house."

"I almost did." He grumped.

"But you didn't." Ellen smiled.

"Humph!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Can I talk to you?" Brittany asked as they ate dinner (takeout as usual).

Marcy raised a brow. "What?"

"No, don't talk. I don't want you in pain."

"I have to get used to talking, Britt." Although it did hurt to make that full sentence.

"Well what do you say to decorating?"

"Decorating?"

"The apartment. We don't have any decorations up and you did do that at home." The older blonde shrugged listlessly.

"Shopping?" Marcy didn't want to do that.

"Please?! Tomorrow's Saturday and maybe you don't have a lot to do?!"

Marcy had canceled her plans for Saturday because she was extraordinarily tired after running around that day (not that she'd ever tell Mal). But Brittany didn't know that.

"Please? Please? You can even decorate the tree!"

"Tree?!"

"You sound like a super-villain." Artie remarked.

Marcy gave him a brittle look.

"Just saying. How bad would it be to just go shopping-?"

"You."

"Me?!" His eyes widened.

Mal chuckled as he sipped his beer.

"We all should go!" Brittany grew excited. "No one has decorations up yet! We should all go!"

Marcy nodded. "Kk, Britt."

"Yay!" Brittany cheered as Artie slumped in his seat. "Yay…"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"I'm so glad we're doing this!" Mercedes squealed. "Britt has such good ideas!"

"Getting all these people to agree on one tree is extremely difficult." Quinn frowned as she eyed the tree they were in front of.

"You're just mad Finn keeps picking out Charlie Brown trees."

"They're so ugly! What is he thinking?!"

Mercedes giggled. "What do you really think of this one?"

"I like it but one side is thinner than the other. Let's keep looking."

"Tina, we need a big tree!" Kurt was yelling.

"Oh, Kurt!" Tina said as Quinn and Mercedes echoed unintentionally.

"We have to prove how well we're doing! We can afford it!"

Mercedes and Quinn drifted over as Tina set her hands on her hips. "Kurt, I like little trees! I've had a small tree ever since I was young!"

"Because you don't know how amazing a big tree is!"

"Kurtie, stop it." Mercedes chided.

"Cedes! Tell her how amazing big trees are! I've seen your pictures from Christmas with your family and you guys always have huge trees!"

"There's nothing wrong with something understated."

"I'm glad you think so." Mike came into view carrying a small tree. "Because I got this one."

"How cute!" Tina gushed.

"No!" Mercedes frowned. "You can't get that tiny tree for your entire apartment!"

"What happened to understated?" Mike grinned.

"Set that down! It probably has ants and pincher bugs!"

"I knew you were on my side." Kurt smiled triumphantly as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I-!" She sighed heavily. "That's really it?"

Mike smiled, giving in. "No. It's for Sam. We're getting a bigger tree but not too big! and this is for him to decorate on his own. It'll be in the kitchen."

"You thought of that?" She smiled at him.

"No way. I'm a guy. Marcy thought of it. She wanted this to be it for us but knew your head would spin so she suggested a small tree for Sam and his "bad taste" to decorate."

"Did she really say he has bad taste?!"

"Yes."

"That girl!" _Is right_. "Well what tree did you pick out? Where is it going?"

"Doesn't matter to me. She's decorating it anyway."

"What?! You don't want me to decorate it?" Hurt colored her voice.

"Hey!" Quinn snapped.

"I mean us!"

"Shouldn't Kurt, Khandi and I help?" Tina teased. "They _are_ our boyfriends."

"That's the whole purpose of having big brothers, Tina." Quinn imparted wisdom. "They protect you and you get to do whatever you want with them and their stuff."

"What?!" Mike bit off.

Tina giggled. "I really missed out, huh?"

"You did but when you marry Mikey, you'll get Marc as a big brother." Quinn didn't care about Mike's feelings.

"Be careful cuz you get Mal as a little brother." Mercedes warned.

"Hey!" Mal snapped as he captured them in a photo.

"You're savage." Mercedes waved him away.

"That's why we're waiting on you! You two take forever! We're going to be here all day!"

"Shut up, Mal!" Both yelled.

He stuck his tongue out. "I should tell Puck and Finn about when you were nine-!"

"Mal?!" They screamed.

Tina giggled. "I'm scared to have a little brother."

"Don't worry, Tina. I like you better than them." Mal stalked off.

"He's lying!" Mercedes snapped.

"He better be!" Quinn added.

"You want to kill him half the time." Kurt shook his head with a smirk.

"So?!" Both groused. "Let's find a tree!"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"A little to the left." Mercedes waved her hand to the left.

"But only a bit!" Quinn rushed to say.

Puck and Finn moved the tree to the left.

"Too much!" The sisters waved their hands to indicate no.

"Mama!" Puck breathed heavily.

"Okay!" Mercedes' hands fluttered around her head before she dusted them. "It'll be fine there. Now we can get to decorating."

"I bet Mini Mama ain't like this." He groused.

"I can't believe she got the first tree she saw!" Mercedes was still upset.

"That's just like her!" Quinn was right there with her.

"I don't want to anger them but it just got worse." Anna whispered.

"What?" Rachel asked.

Anna showed her, her phone. It had a picture of Marcy's tree on it. Marcy's completely decorated tree.

Rachel winced. "They're not going to like this."

"What are you two whispering about back there?!" Mercedes walked around the tree in the den.

Both jumped. "Nothing!"

Finn pulled out his buzzing phone. "Hey, look! Marcy's done!"

They facepalmed.

"What?!" Mercedes and Quinn screeched.

"Yeah, she's-… done…" Finn realized he should have kept his mouth shut.

Puck snickered.

Mercedes turned on her heel. "Come on, Lucy!"

Quinn followed behind her (and the others followed behind her).

They put on shoes and went across the hall and took the shoes off again.

They went through the house looking for Marcy and found her in the living room. The large tree was in back of the piano and twinkled in the waning sunlight of late December afternoon.

The tree had two strands of silver tinsel, one wrapping of white lights and two strands each of popcorn and cranberries with ten bells and candy canes each and fifteen max ornaments. It was beautiful in its simplicity.

"I can't believe this!" Mercedes gasped.

"You're done!" Quinn was fit to throw a tantrum.

"Of course I'm done." Marcy finished cleaning up.

"And it's beautiful!" Both whined.

"You're not done?" She lifted a brow. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"We spent half an hour finding the "right spot"." Puck muttered.

"That's bull."

Mal and Ellen walked in. "Okay, we're done upstairs."

"What?!" Mercedes stamped a foot.

"What's with you?" Mal frowned.

"How are you done already?! We haven't even started!"

"That's sad. What have you been doing all this time?"

She growled at him and waved Raven's arm irritably.

He took her from her. "Mama is a wackadoodle."

"Hey!"

"Mal." Ellen shook her head, trying not to smile.

"We're done!" Brittany waddled into the living room followed by Santana and Artie.

"Oh come on!" Quinn was bent out of shape.

"You cannot be seriously done!" Mercedes spat.

"Yes." Santana yawned. "And I'm tired. I fully support going to bed."

"It's six o'clock."

"So?!"


	29. Chapter29

"Okay, guys, we have to find somebody soon." Marcy pushed open the door to the music shop.

"We've been here a bunch of times, Bruce." Sam protested. "I don't think we're going to find anybody."

"Yes, we are! The best place to find talent is in shops! We got Julio that way!"

"I don't know, Marcy." Finn shook his head. "I think that may have been a one time thing:"

"Look, we got lucky that Tommy was playing outside a cafe but we will not find a bassist by wandering the streets. I know this is New York but let's be realistic."

Both boys shrugged. "Fine."

"Good. Now come on. I think I hear somebody."

They moved deeper into the shop trying to place phantom plucking. They walked near the back where all the amps were and sure enough there was a young black man plucking strings with his head down and eyes closed, lost in his own groove.

Marcy blew out a breath in relief. _Yes!_ "Hey, dude!"

At first he didn't react.

She came closer. "Dude!"

He jerked and opened his eyes. "Whoa!"

"Sorry to just walk up on you but you got the beat, bro."

He frowned a little at her wording. "Huh?"

"Your fingers make magic." She clarified.

He blushed slightly. "Thanks. You like bassists?"

"A bunch apparently." She lifted her shoulders. "So you in a band or what?"

"Nah. I played classical since grade school and got into blues in high school. I'm solo."

"That blows but this is your lucky day, man. We're a band and we want you."

"What?" He chuckled.

"Us." She hooked a thumb at the silent Finn and Sam. "We've also got a sax player and a trumpet player."

"What do you guys play?"

"Jazzy rock. Rocky jazz. We haven't figured out what we're gonna call it yet but it's boss."

He liked her style. She was completely confident, which appealed to him since he'd had his own confidence issues in the past. "Name's Bradley Scott. Call me Brad."

"That's a helluva white name."

"Marcy!" Finn and Sam blushed.

"What?" She shrugged.

Brad laughed. "What's your name?"

"Marceline Anne but you can call me MarcAn."

"MarceAnn?"

"Yep."

"Marceline Anne doesn't sound exactly all that black. Which I think you aren't anyway, redbone."

"I never understood that. If you're high yellow, shouldn't you be yellow bone? Whatever." She shook her head. "We want you and we'll do whatever it takes to get in bed with you."

"In bed, you say?" He grinned.

"I see where I went wrong. I can't do anything. I promised to stop cheating." She lifted a shoulder. "You're totally hot though. But I can't do it. They're taken, too so if you want hookups, you're going to have to contend yourself with groupies."

Brad laughed. "Girl, you're somethin else!"

"It better be something good or I'll cut you from your sternum to your scrotum."

He grimaced. "Brutal."

"That's Tony." Sam said.

Marcy punched his arm. "Shut up. So B, this is Samantha and this is the Jolly Finn Giant. They're cool in their own way."

"Ouch!" Finn frowned.

"Believe me, you're cooler than you know but you have a long way to go."

"Why are you like this?!" Sam spat.

"You're just mad you're a geek."

Brad laughed. "Do you have rehearsal space?"

"Um… technically." She scratched her head.

"Why does that sound like a no?"

"It's not. It's just that we're signed to a label and we'd be rehearsing there. We're supposed to be recording an album."

"Really?" His brows raised. "A real demo?"

"Nope. Album album."

"How'd you hang that without a bassist?"

"You don't have to have a bassist. I've done more with less but I think a bassist will round out our sound. Besides I signed by myself before bringing these guys on."

"You must be a good singer."

She cleared her throat. "Must be."

"I thought you were gonna give us a preview."

"No."

"Please? What if you suck?"

"Excuse you?!" She gave him a haughty look.

"How would I know? You could be lying to me for all I know."

"Can you keep up?" She blew out a breath.

"I can follow you to the moon."

"Finn, find some skins; Sam, pick up an axe. Where's a keyboard?"

"I feel like something is about to happen." Brad smiled.

They all got into position and Marcy began playing. It was just a random melody before she started humming. Words poured from her lips as Sam and Brad began playing. They went a bit faster and Finn joined in.

They grooved for a while, Marcy singing whatever came to mind, the guys playing backup. The whole store came to a grinding halt as everyone stopped what they were doing to listen and watch.

Marcy stopped singing and began humming again before she and the guys just stopped playing. The store erupted into riotous applause.

"So you can keep up." Marcy walked over to Brad. "Good."

"Wow, your voice is beautiful." He blinked in surprise.

She shrugged carelessly. "So you in?"

He held out his hand. "Oh yeah!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"What?" Mercedes, Santana, Artie and Marcy blinked.

"I want to visit Santa." Brittany repeated.

"Britt,-" Artie started.

"I wanna visit Santa!" She yelled.

"Okay!"

Santana started crying. "No!"

"Why, San?" Brittany cuddled her close.

"Cuz you're gonna ask for something hard again!"

Brittany opened her mouth then closed it. "I won't. I promise."

"Jimi's not going to walk again. You know that, don't you?"

"I know." Brittany bit her lower lip.

"And you're not going to ask that our babies have magic powers or come out as mermaids?"

Brittany sulked. "No."

Santana sniffled. "Okay. We'll go see Santa."

Timbaland was way confused. "What?"

Marcy shook her head. "You don't wanna know."

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Look, Beth! There's Santa!" Quinn pointed to the jolly fat man.

Beth waved her arms in excitement. "Yay!"

"You see him, Mick?" Mal bounced with his daughter.

Mickey nodded. "Mommy said he's not real."

"Marcy?!" Mercedes protested.

"I'm not lying to my kids." Marcy didn't care.

"What if they tell other kids?!"

"What'd Mommy say about other people believing in Santa?" Marcy lifted Mally up.

"It's okay cuz he makes them happy and if they believe don't say anything." Mally recited.

Marcy kissed his cheek. "Good boy."

Ellen tickled him. "That's so cute!"

He giggled.

Mercedes cupped his chin. "That's a good boy."

He beamed.

"We're next! We're next!" Brittany vibrated.

Artie wheeled her closer to the stairs and helped her stand. "Go up."

Brittany climbed the three wide steps and clapped happily when faced with the red cheeked gifter. "Ahh!"

The mall Santa laughed his signature laugh. "Come sit down, little girl! What would you like for Christmas?"

She sat on his lap while her spouses had clenched eyes and crossed fingers. "Hi, Santa! Do you remember me?"

"Of course I do! You're such a sweet girl! How could I forget?"

She beamed. "Do you remember Artie and Santana? We're all together since the last time we saw you. I never got to tell you thank you for helping Artie walk."

He looked (was) surprised. He looked to her friends for help but they didn't have answers for him. "You're welcome, dear."

"We're having babies now. We're due any day now. I wanted to see you before then."

"You must have a special Christmas wish for your children."

"Uh huh!" She nodded. "I promised San that I wouldn't ask for anything hard this time so all I want is for our babies to be born happy and healthy and singing as good as us."

He smiled. "I can do that."

"Yay! Thank you, Santa!" She wrapped her arms around him as her friends let out breaths of relief.

"My pleasure, sweetheart. Smile!"

She beamed for her picture then got off his lap.

Santana went next. "I don't want labor to hurt."

His eyes widened.

 _ **M-A-P**_

Brittany yawned and stretched. A pang in her lower back awakened her but it only lasted a second. It didn't make sense. She was in a deep sleep and suddenly it was like her spine clenched then it was over.

She pushed the covers back and climbed out of bed. She shuffled off to the bathroom and used the facilities. As she washed her hands, she yawned again and peered into the mirror to examine her face.

She looked tired but otherwise glowed. She'd had a good pregnancy with minimum pitfalls. At least it seemed minimum. She had stayed angry through most of it so she wasn't sure exactly how the experience was.

She turned off the water and went back to bed when something happened. It was like she peed herself but that couldn't have happened. She just went! She knew that going multiple times a day was her reality but this was ridiculous!

She shuffled into the closet and put on clean pajamas just thankful Marcy had talked her and Santana into adult diapers at this late stage in their pregnancies.

She turned the light out and went back to bed. Another pang hit and she couldn't even lie back. It took her breath away for a moment then it passed.

She lay down and tried to get comfortable. She laid there for a few minutes hoping sleep would find her again when it hit her like a ton of bricks.

She was in labor! Her water just broke!

She gasped as her eyes flew open and she threw the covers back again. She turned to Artie, who was stuck in the middle of the two pregnant women. "Artie!"

Artie slumbered on.

She pushed at his shoulder. "Artie! Artie, wake up!"

He frowned. "What, Britt?"

"You have to wake up! I'm in labor!"

"Labor Day has passed, Britt."

She shook him again and her voice deepened in a mood swing. "Wake up right this second!"

His eyes popped open. "Britt, what's wrong?!"

"I'm in labor, you jerk!"

He blinked, sure he heard her wrong. "You're what?!"

"In labor! Wake up!" She climbed from the bed.

"You can't be! You're not due til Saturday!"

"Well it's happening! I have to get Marcy and see what we need to do!"

"What do I do?!" He panicked.

"Wake up San and get dressed!"

"Shhh!" Santana frowned in her sleep.

"She's not going to like this." Artie murmured.

"She's going to love it!" Brittany swept out. She went upstairs and went to the upstairs thruples' door.

She raised her hand to knock when another pain shot through her. That hurt! She shook it off and knocked briskly.

No one answered.

She knocked louder.

But still no one answered.

She opened the door and saw everyone was still asleep. She went to the bed and shook Marcy. She stepped aside immediately, having heard that she fought in her sleep.

True to form, Marcy reached out to strike. Luckily Brittany was near the end of the bed. Brittany went back to the top and shook Marcy's shoulder again. She stepped away.

Marcy's eyes opened and instantly narrowed. She lifted her head off her pillow with a scowl and saw Brittany. "Britt? What's wrong?"

"I'm in labor." Brittany squealed.

Marcy's eyes widened. "Oh shit…"

Brittany clapped. "San and Artie are getting dressed. What do we do?"

Marcy yawned as she sat up. "Get your bag and get dressed. I'll make coffee for Artie and get everyone else up and ready if you want us there. Have Tana call your doctor to meet you at the hospital-"

"Ow!" Brittany held her side.

"That's going to get worse so you need to hurry _carefully_ down the stairs and get started. Just worry about getting dressed and I'll take care of the rest."

"Thank you, Marcy." Brittany hugged her.

"Yeah, yeah." Marcy patted her back before pushing her away gently. "Go on."

Brittany left the room.

Marcy looked around, tired already. "Fuck…"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"This is so exciting!" Mercedes gushed.

"Britt-Bratt's having her baby!" Quinn was excited, too.

Puck, who was holding both his daughters and just wished he was asleep, moaned. "We've been here for an hour!"

"Noah,-!" Mercedes started.

"Lasers and airplanes!" Finn snorted awake.

Quinn sighed.

Rachel smiled. "I'm excited, too. One day this will happen for me. I want everyone around us then."

"Me too!" Ellen squealed. "I can't wait to be pregnant!"

"As nice as you are, I can." Marcy flipped a page in her book.

"What does that mean?"

"Oh no." Mal dreaded knocking her up now that he was thinking about it. "You're going to show out on me."

"What? No, I won't."

"Yeah, you will." Marcy countered.

Mike looked at Tina. "Crap…"

Tina gave a funny frown. "What are you saying?"

"Are you pregnant now?" He leaned away.

"What if I was?"

"That's not funny, babe."

"I want to know. How would you react if I told you I was pregnant right now?" She gave him her complete focus.

He sweatdropped and gulped. "I think I'd propose."

"Really?"

He couldn't gauge her mood from that solitary word. "Uh huh."

"Why don't you propose anyway?"

"Because we're still young. We need to experience life before we make a commitment like that."

Tina nodded. "Then why would you propose if I were pregnant?"

"My children are being born in wedlock." He was very firm about that.

She smiled accidentally. "You sound so serious."

"I am. I would like to do things the right way. By the plan."

"The plan?"

"Oh shut up!" Mal bit off at the same time. "The plan sucks!"

"You're just mad you ruined the plan!" Mike shot back.

"I don't care about that plan!" Mal sulked.

"Would you calm down?" Marcy crossed her legs but didn't lower her book. "The plan makes sense for him and it worked for Marc. You aren't the same person so different things work for different people. Different strokes for different folks and all that."

"We coulda gotten married." Mal was being petulant.

"No, we couldn't have."

"I asked."

"I said no for a reason."

"Not that you'd tell me." He muttered with his lip stuck out.

"Wait a minute!" Tina lit up at the gossip. "Mal proposed to you and you said no?!"

"I was well within my right." Marcy said.

"Why'd you say no?" Ellen questioned.

"Nope."

"No what?"

"Nope."

Ellen crossed her arms. "I hate when you say no! It's very unfair!"

"You'll get over it."

Ellen made a disgruntled groan.

"Marcy, be nice to her!" Mercedes waved a hand irritably.

Marcy stuck out her tongue.

Brittany giggled. "I know this is going really slowly but I'm glad all of you guys are here. I couldn't do it without you. Right, guys?"

Santana nodded. "Right. We need you."

"Uh huh." Artie nodded fearfully.

Brittany beamed. "We're having a baby!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"We're having _two_ babies?!" Artie was so stressed out.

Santana, whose water just broke, laid back in bed. "I don't like this!"

He clung to her right hand as Brittany gripped the left one. "You'll do fine."

"But it hurts!"

"You're dilating quickly." Her doctor told her.

"It's not fair! I'm not due until Monday!"

"You're early, honey."

"Ahhh!"

"Do you want an epidural? It'll take care of the pain but I must warn you that it is a needle that goes in your spine. You have to be very, very still."

"I don't care! Just stop the pain!"

Santana came to regret those words when the needle was being shoved into her lower back. That was not an experience she relished and she swore to herself, she was never getting pregnant again!

Now she was lying in bed, waiting on Dr. Shaffer to say whether she could start pushing. "What's taking so long?!"

"You know eventually that epidural will wear off and your snatch will turn into the forest of a thousand screams?" Marcy was still reading.

"What?" Both Santana and Brittany looked up.

"Oh yeah. You're going to be in pain anyway. It's just a matter of now or later."

"How would you know? You didn't get the needle." Santana hoped she was wrong.

"I got moms, don't I? I got friends who have kids. I got the Internet and hello, doctors will tell you if you ask."

Brittany started crying. "I don't know what to do!" She wasn't far enough along to get an epidural.

"Well it's too late for somebody right about now."

Santana growled. "This isn't fair! I hate you!"

Artie, whom she was talking to, jumped. "Okay."

"Okay?! How is this okay?! I'm about to be split open and all you can say is "okay"?!"

"You can do it?" He offered.

She gripped his hand extra tight to show she didn't think it was funny.

"You're kinda holding on tight."

"Am I?"

"Umh hmm." He nodded and tried to take his hand back but she wouldn't let go.

"Alright!" Dr. Shaffer walked in. "Let's see how you're progressing and see if we can get this show on the road!"

Santana laid back and let the doctor examine her.

"Ah! You are ready! I'll call my nurses and you decide who you want to be in here with you!"

Luckily their parents has made it in time. "I want Mamí, Ms. Melanie and Ms. Janet. I want Jimi and Britt and I want Wheezy."

Mercedes screamed lowly in excitement. "Yay!"

"Let's go, kindela." Marcy shut her book. "It's about to get supernatural in here."

"What does that mean?" Santana demanded.

Maribel smoothed her hair back. "It's time to prove you're ready to be a mother."

Santana burst into tears as the others shuffled out. Her dad was the last to go and he patted her foot gingerly. "You are strong enough, mi amor."

Dr. Shaffer finished getting ready and positioned Santana. "Are we ready?"

"We're ready!" Brittany was ready.

"Okay, Santana. On the count of three, push!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

Artie was handed his baby girl. His glasses fogged up as he looked at her. She was beautiful!

She had dark brown hair with light brown eyes. She was a light cocoa coloring and looked like a miniature version of her mother. She had Santana's eyelashes, her nose, her mouth- she had Artie's ears.

She came out eight pounds, two ounces and screaming bloody murder.

But how Artie loved her. She was quiet since being placed in his arms and she was softly mewling. He loved looking at her. She was so precious to him.

"Hello, my Anastasia." He kissed her plump cheek.

Santana held her hands out for the baby.

He gave her up carefully. "Watch her head."

"I got it." Santana held her daughter for the first time. Everything in her shifted. This life was no longer about her. Now it was about the tiny, squirming, lovable mass in her arms.

Brittany leaned over the bed, tears in her eyes. "Our first baby."

"Yeah." Santana sniffled, love clear in her eyes. "Our first baby."

Maribel kissed Santana's head. "How do you feel, mija?"

"Whole."

"Good."

Brittany wanted to hold her but her pain was intensifying. "I have to sit."

"Are you okay, Britt?" Melanie helped her sit down.

"No. It's getting very painful."

"You should get back in bed." Dr. Shaffer ordered.

Melanie helped Brittany up and into the bed set up next to Santana's. "I'm sorry, baby."

"Will I be okay, Mommy?" Brittany asked, fear very much on her face and in her voice.

"Of course you will."

Dr. Shaffer patted the space between Brittany's feet. "You're crowning. We have to do this now."

"I can't get the needle?" Brittany blubbered.

"It's too late for that, I'm afraid."

"Do you want me to stay or do you want someone else to be with you?" Mercedes took her hand.

"Can you get Quinn?" Brittany asked, whimpering.

Mercedes kissed the back of Brittany's hand. "I'll get her."

Santana held onto Melanie's hand and in turn the blonde held onto her daughter's hand, forming a chain.

Janet pushed her son to Brittany's other side and held his hand as he reached up for his girlfriend's.

Quinn came in quickly and took up space by the end of the bed. "You're doing great, Britt!"

"Thank you." Brittany cried, not looking forward to this getting worse.

"Listen to your body, Brittany." Dr. Shaffer told her. "Start pushing."

Brittany began pushed and was surprised by the words that came out of her mouth. She usually didn't use abusive language like that.

Artie was a little afraid. Santana he was used to, Brittany was a whole different ballgame. And she sounded completely serious.

It took a lot but Brittany finally pushed out a bouncing baby boy. He hollered and he screamed. He was obviously not happy.

He didn't calm down until Brittany got to hold him skin to skin. His voice was pure Artie but he looked like his mom. He had dirty blonde hair with brown lowlights and big cornflower blue eyes. His body was red but it would fade.

He had thin lips, Brittany's nose and Artie's ears. He came out eight pounds exactly.

Artie stroked the back of his son's hand. "Hey, little guy. I'm your dad. I'm going to show you how to throw a ball, sing and bring your moms flowers."

Janet wiped away tears. "He's so cute!"

"He really is." Quinn complimented.

"Do you want to switch?" Santana couldn't see him.

"Sure!" Brittany wasn't exactly sure she wanted to give him up but she knew she wanted to see Ana.

Maribel took Ana and gave her to Brittany while Melanie took AJ and gave him to Santana. Both new mothers cried at seeing their children.

"We're going to switch your rooms." Dr. Shaffer said. "But don't worry. You'll still be together. Then we'll vaccinate the children. After, you'll be free to bond."

"Thank you, Dr. Shaffer!" The girls chirped.

"You're welcome, girls."

 _ **M-A-P**_

"We should go. We all missed class today and our professors are pretty steamed." Mercedes stood.

"Not that we care." Marcy didn't. "We're happy for you guys."

"We'll come back to see you between classes tomorrow." Quinn promised.

"Do you have to go?" Brittany poked her bottom lip out.

"We've got to put the little ones down."

"You don't need us. You have your moms." Marcy pointed out.

"We'll come as soon as we can." Mercedes reconfirmed.

Brittany pouted. "Okay. We'll see you tomorrow."

The rest of their friends said their farewells and well-wishing.

"We'll grab some stuff from the vending machines and check on sleeping arrangements." The new grandmothers said. "Come on, guys."

Their families shuffled out. Soon it was just the family of five. Both girls were in their beds with Artie between them.

"Do you want me to propose?" Artie would do it. The way he felt right now, they could ask him to get up and do a cartwheel and he'd do it.

Santana shook her head as she gazed into AJ's eyes. "We're good. We can wait a few years."

"Are you sure?"

"Let's just enjoy being parents first." Brittany advised.

"Okay. But I will one day, you know."

"We know." They chimed.

He nodded. "Good."


	30. Chapter30

"I know you guys put off going on vacation for us but you don't have to stay." Brittany rocked with AJ.

"We're not leaving until you feel more comfortable." Mercedes promised.

" _She's_ not leaving until you feel more comfortable." Marcy put up a hand. " _I'm_ leaving tonight."

"Marce!"

"They were born on Thursday. It's Monday!"

"Stop that!"

"Rou and Yuria already left." Marcy and Karou had persuaded Yuria to come on vacation with their family since she was estranged from her own.

"I understand." Brittany nodded. "You want to lie on a beach."

"I want to drink on the beach." She corrected.

Mercedes glared at her sister. "Stop that! We can be here for our friends!"

"Guys?!" Quinn waved her hands. "Stop fighting! The babies will pick up on that!"

"Do you not remember who their mother and father are?" Marcy crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hey!" Santana bit off.

"You're lucky your professors let you take your exams online."

Santana stuck her tongue out. "Go away! We don't need you!"

"Then I guess I can catch an earlier flight."

"No!"

"Make up your mind, chick."

"How about we spend the day helping you prepare for the rest of break?" Mal soothed. "We'll be gone until after Mike's birthday so you guys have the place to yourselves until then."

"And we're staying with you until they get back so you'll never be without help." Janet added.

"Fine." Santana wouldn't admit that she was freaked out to be alone with her children.

"I'll get you some tea." Artie offered. "Boo Thang, I need you to fill the kettle for me."

Marcy straightened and followed him out to the kitchen. She filled the kettle before filling a cup with ice cold water from the faucet and drinking it.

"Can we talk?" He put the kettle on the range and fired up an eye.

She looked at him as she drank… but she didn't leave.

He sighed. "You're my best friend. No jokes, no games, no take backs. I love you. What we did- what _I_ did was wrong. I tried to mess you up when all you did was have a few giggles. And the pranks weren't even all that bad.

I was an ass. I know you probably don't trust me anymore but I vow to get you to forgive me. I'm going to be so damn annoyingly upbeat and positive and buzz around you like a mosquito that just won't die that you're going to forgive me just to get some peace."

"I'm not looking forward to that." She spoke quietly.

"Oh, it's going to drive you crazy. But that's what you do for love."

She drank more to cover her speechlessness and overwhelming urge to speak simultaneously. When she was sure she was contained, she pulled the mug away (she had less than an ounce of water left anyway). "I'm getting you back."

"I can accept that."

"It'll be brutal."

"I deserve it. I had a copy the police didn't take and rewatching it… the fear on your face… it wasn't right what went down."

"You won't see it coming."

"As long as it don't involve my kids, I'm fine."

"I don't harm children."

Artie gulped, reading between the lines. "I'll take my lumps."

"I forgive you."

"What?" It was said so carelessly that he wasn't sure exactly what she said.

"I forgive you."

"You do?!" He wasn't expecting that. He wheeled forward to hug her.

"Get off me!" She pushed him away. "You might be forgiven but ain't nothing forgotten! I don't trust you."

"I'll rebuild your trust in me." He swore instantly.

"Uh huh. I've forgiven all you dickheads now so we're officially done talking about what happened. It's over, it's done with, it never happened."

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Good." She set the cup aside and made to leave.

His voice stopped her. "Can I hear it?"

"Hear what?" Confusion colored her voice.

"My name. I just want to hear you call me "RT" or "Artman" just once so I know we're really cool."

She wasn't sure. She was still a little raw over the whole ordeal but she said she forgave him, right? "Watch the kettle, Artman."

He whooped as she left. The kettle began screaming.

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Bienvenido Buenos Aires!"

Mercedes squealed happily. "We're here!"

"I see the exact beach I'm going to lay on!" Quinn said just as happily.

"Let's just check in so we can get out of these hot clothes." Marcy groaned.

"I can help you take off anything you don't want to wear." Mal promised as he pressed close behind her.

She bumped him with her bottom. "Don't tempt me."

"Let's just go up to our room." Mike suggested.

So the six adults (including Jude), four children and lone nanny took their key upstairs and found their room. No one was inside but their clothing was. Laura, Marc and Maddie had arrived on time Saturday.

They worked to put away their things and shed their layers before calling to let people know they'd made it. It was early morning so they decided to go get breakfast while it was still being served.

They went down to the dining room and ordered breakfast, having a great time shoving off their winter blues and accepting bright sunshine. It'd snowed in New York before they left and the temperatures dropped significantly so this was much preferred.

After they ate, they went back upstairs to change into swimsuits. Mercedes and Quinn wanted to hang out on the beach while Mal, Marcy and Mike wanted to go surfing. Jude didn't mind either.

The girls changed the babies and they gathered up supplies to take with them. They went downstairs and went to the neighboring stretch of sand.

It was crowded but they were able to find space.

Mercedes, Quinn and Marcy laid down blankets and put their things down before letting the children down.

"We should go to that shack." Marcy pointed.

"Is that where the boards are?" Mike looked.

"I think so. Boards are stacked around it. It wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Go see." Mal pushed her gently.

She narrowed her eyes at him but ultimately pulled Jude behind her.

"Damn!" He snapped his fingers.

"You wanted her to go." Mercedes stared at him, lost.

"I know."

"Ew!" Quinn glared at him. "You just wanted to watch her butt!"

"Mal!" Mercedes pushed him.

"Well her butt is awesome!" He defended himself.

Mike snickered.

"Mikey, that's not funny. He's dirty and should be above that." Mercedes shook her finger. "Bad Jr.!"

"So you're saying you don't want to be seen as desirable?" Mal pressed.

"Well-"

"You want to be seen as sexy. Why can't she?"

Mercedes thought it over. "As long as you love all of her."

"Mercy, it's me."

"I know, sweetie." She cupped his chin.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Shut up!" She slapped his cheek lightly.

"Abusive! Rae, your Mommy's mean!"

Raven rolled onto her back and giggled.

"Silly girl." Mercedes dragged her onto her lap and covered her in kisses. "Your Tio's an idiot though. Don't listen to him."

"Idiot?" Beth repeated.

"Yeah." Quinn swept her hair back from her forehead. "Tio Mal is a big idiot."

"Hey!" Mal was offended.

"Hey!" Marcy wrapped her arms around Mike. "It rents out boards."

"Good. Did you do any?" Mike wanted to know.

"I left my purse so I asked if I could reserve four and come back to pay. Dude said yeah."

"Cool. Let's go." Mike detangled himself from her and stood up. "Want a ride?"

"Yay! Thank you!" She lifted her arms.

He bent down slightly so she could crawl onto his back. "Come on, guys."

"Mommy and Daddy will see you later." Marcy waved carefully. "Stay close to Marionette!"

The twins nodded as they blew kisses.

Marcy and Mal blew kisses back before Mike, Jude and Mal walked back to the shack.

"It's early but the beach is crowded." Mercedes noted. "Want to see if Lond and Nat will come down?"

"Sure." Quinn stood Beth up. "Do you want to make a sandcastle for Mommy and Tia Me?"

Beth nodded. "Twins help?"

"Hey, guys." Mercedes stretched across the blankets and tapped Mickey's chubby leg. "Wanna make a sandcastle with Beth?"

Mickey face-spoke with her twin. She turned back to her aunt. "Yes!"

"Yay! Get your toys!"

Mickey giggled and went to the bag her mother prepared for her and her brother. She rustled through it and took out a pail and two shovels. "Look, Mally!"

Mally crawled over and sat on his knees to take one from her. "Yay."

Quinn handed Beth a bucket and shovel. "Go have fun."

Beth and the twins ran off.

"Hey! Stay right there!"

They stopped and collapsed onto the sand. They started digging with the shovels and dumping the sand into their buckets.

Mercedes set Raven up next to her and laid out. She shook her hair out and set a pair of purple sunglasses on her nose before laying back. "They said they'd be here soon."

"Who? Lond and Nat? Good." Quinn laid back as well. She put on sunglasses and put her arms behind her head. "This is what I'm going to be doing until it gets dark."

"You're not going to teach Beth how to swim?"

"I don't know. I might take her in but it's not going to be a thing."

"Marce said she wanted to teach the twins. I think I'm going to take Rae in but obviously not to have a real swimming lesson."

"Do you think she'll like that?"

"She likes taking baths."

"It might be different."

"I know. I just don't want her to cry. She won't go near water until she's our age."

Quinn smiled. "We'll get her in water. Isn't that right, sugar bunch?" She tickled Raven.

Raven giggled and reached out to swat Quinn.

"You got me!" Quinn pretended to cry.

Raven rolled onto her stomach and peered into her aunt's face.

Quinn hid behind her hands and pretended to sob.

Raven moved closer and put her hand on one of Quinn's.

"You're checking on me?" Quinn moved a hand.

Raven shrieked.

Quinn made a loud noise before kissing the one year old's cheek.

Raven cracked up and rolled back.

"You're both silly." Mercedes commented.

Quinn stuck her tongue out.

 _ **M-A-P**_

"He's rolling! Go!" Marc called out.

Laura, Mercedes, Quinn and Marcy took the kids into the surf and sat down with the babies in their laps. All four screamed.

"Hey!" Marcy barked. "Quit it!"

"Cold, Mommy!" Mickey made her crying face.

Marcy kissed her upset face. "You okay. It'll get warmer."

Mally kicked his feet.

Laura, who was holding him, frowned and tried to avoid the splashing water. "Baby, no!"

Mally stopped kicking and started pouting.

She pinched his cheek. "Be a good boy. Can't you do that?"

"Yeah, Tia. I good boy."

"I'm so proud of you!"

He grinned up at her before reaching back to rub her large belly.

"Smile, Mick!" Mal urged as he steadied the camera.

Mickey frowned. "Cold!"

Marcy shook her. "Still cold?"

Mickey giggled. "Again! Again!"

Marcy shook her again.

Raven laughed and splashed the water.

"You like it?" Mercedes kissed her head.

Raven threw her head back and splashed bigger.

Mercedes had an upset look on her face. She hadn't planned on getting her hair wet.

Quinn laughed. "It's okay, Sissy! I think she likes the water!"

Mercedes hugged Raven. "It's alright, sweetness."

As soon as the words crossed her lips, Raven threw out her arms and sent a tidal wave on her mom.

Quinn and Marcy burst out laughing.

"Are you okay, Mercy?" Laura's lips twitched.

"You are your daddy's daughter." Mercedes told Raven instead.

The baby just grinned.

 _ **M-A-P**_

The family clapped heartedly as Laura, Marc, Mike, Mercedes, Quinn, Marcy, Mal and Maddie went to sit down. They'd just finished singing a medley of Christmas songs and now it was someone else's turn.

"You sounded wonderful!" Jeanette complimented.

"Thanks, Mom!" Maddie hugged her.

"Did you all get a newsletter?" Judy asked.

"Grandmama told us to pick a few up." Mike said.

"Newsletter?" Jude prosed.

"It's like a newspaper/magazine about what the family's been up to for the past year. Every family member has half a page to brag." Marcy explained as she picked Mally up.

"Did you get yours?"

"Yeah. It's up in the room. I'll show you later."

"Thanks."

"Are you ready to bake?" Mercedes wanted to get in the kitchens again.

"Ugh!" Marcy groaned. "I don't wanna do that!"

"But you always bake cookies." Quinn pointed out.

"I know but I want to do something. Something fun."

"It's almost night. What can you do at night?" Laura bossed.

"I can do a lot at night." Marcy sassed. "Everything I do during the day. Everything I do during the day that I usually do at night."

"Yeah!" Mal cheered.

"Mal, stop that! She didn't mean that!" Laura was flustered.

"Yes, I did." Marcy burst her bubble.

"You dirty girl!" Laura wagged a finger.

"No, Tia." Mally shook his head. "Mommy clean. Too clean…"

"What do you mean "too clean"?!" Marcy demanded.

He was quiet as he played with his fingers.

She narrowed her eyes. "You gets nothing else from me."

"Marce." Mal tapped her elbow as Mally's lip poked out.

"You shut up. You ain't gettin nothin either."

He had a hurt look on his face.

"Stop that, you horndog."

"Daddy not a corndog." Mickey said.

"Stay outta grown folks business."

Mickey pouted.

Marc laughed. "You've burned all of them in three seconds."

"You mind your own business and keep making touchdowns." Marcy told him.

"Oh, I'm going to keep making touchdowns. Don't worry about that. Just be nice to my kids."

Mal growled.

"You a grown man. You can fight your own battles."

Marcy giggled. "Who wants to help Mommy make cookies?"

Mally and Mickey came alive. "I do! I do!"

"I thought you didn't want to bake cookies?" Quinn teased.

"Shut up." Marcy rolled her eyes.

Mal pulled her over and fit her bottom right against his front.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He pressed her close.

"In front of the kids, Mal?!" Laura was disgusted.

"I'm not doing anything!"

Marcy leaned forward, pressing her bottom firmly against him. "We can find somewhere to have a private moment but I'm hungry so I need to make cookies."

"Stop teasing him." Laura pulled her away. "You two are seriously bad."

Mike grinned. "Can I come in and watch you girls bake?"

"You just want food, fat boy."

"So? I'm hungry, too."

"Did you know that he ate every cookie I brought him the same day I brought them to him?" Marcy grinned. "That's dedication."

"That's greed." Laura lectured. "You need to stop eating so much or you're going to gain weight, Mikey."

"He can stand it. When your third leg is thicker than your standard two, it's a problem." Marcy teased.

Mike laughed as Laura swatted Marcy. "Who taught you how to speak?!"

"Grandfather."

"I thought he taught you how to curse?" Mike poked her.

"You're right. I get the straight talk from Granddad."

"Shame…" Judy shook her head. "Go bake."

"Bye." Marcy lifted Mally high against her shoulder and held out her hand for Mickey. "Come on, Jude. What kind of cookies do you want?"

Jude and the girls followed Marcy to the kitchens. Along with other cousins and aunts (and a few uncles), they set to work baking their famous goods.

"Mommy?" Beth asked.

"Hmm?" Quinn hummed.

"Why do you do this and not put stuff in the oven?"

Quinn stopped feeding the ice cream machine to look at her. "I like making ice cream. It's my favorite thing to make and I'm good at it. Plus, Tia May really likes it."

"True dat!" Marcy tossed out.

Beth nodded. "Will I make ice cream like you?"

"If you want." Quinn wouldn't pressure her to. "You can make whatever you want."

Beth thought about it. "I want to make pie!"

Quinn set her on her feet. "Go see Tia Me then. She's the pie lady."

Beth hugged her legs before running off to Mercedes. "Hi, Tia Me!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Wake up!" Maddie yelled. "It's Christmas!"

Marc groaned. "Mad! It's night!"

"No! It's morning!" She climbed out of bed and opened the curtains. Pinks, oranges and purples crested over the horizon with the burgeoning sunrise.

"Like _early_ morning!"

"Why are you awake anyway?" Marcy yawned. "She's not that loud."

"Thanks, Marcy." Maddie deadpanned.

Marcy leaned over and kissed Mally's cheek. He and his twin decided they didn't want to sleep in cribs anymore and demanded to sleep in the bed with their parents. "You're welcome."

Maddie sighed. Marcy was so literal.

Marc chuckled. "I'm awake because somebody keeps kicking me."

Maddie pouted. "Nu uhn!"

"So your feet weren't in my back?"

"No!"

"Maddie!" Quinn groaned. "Be quiet!"

"No! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

"Alright, little one!" Mercedes yawned. "We're getting up."

No one moved.

"Mercy!" Maddie screamed.

Everyone woke up at that, some of them crying.

"Maddie!" The moms groaned.

"Sorry! But you have to wake up so we can open gifts!" Maddie didn't mean to jar the kids but she wanted to open presents.

"We'll open presents. Don't worry." Mercedes soothed Raven.

"I guess I gotta get up." Mike groaned.

"Great…!" Mal bit off.

"Daddy!" Mickey cried.

He pulled her onto his chest and kissed her face. "Don't cry, Mick. Tia Mad didn't mean to scare you. She just gets it from her sisters."

"Mal!" Five Fabanges women warned.

Marc and Mike snickered. "He's gonna die!"

"They're being mean to me, Mick." Mal hugged her.

"No mean to Daddy!" Mickey defended him.

"She'll miss you." Marcy swore.

"When you kill me. Yeah, I know." Mal sighed.

"Slowly. When I kill you slowly."

"No, Mommy." Mickey stuck her lip out.

"I'll do it when you're sleep." Marcy kissed her cheek.

Mickey giggled. "Present?"

"Yeah! We gon get into some gifts!"

"Yay!" Beth cheered. "Come on, Tio Mi!"

Mike sat up with a grunt. "I'm up. I'm up."

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Maddie, brush your hair!" Laura ordered as she strained to put on her shoes. "Marc! Can you put my shoes on me please?"

Marc laughed at her pleading. "Sure." He knelt before her and slipped her flats on.

"Thank you." She leaned forward to kiss him.

"Gross!" Mike, Marcy and Mal yelled.

"Shut up!" Marc barked before going deeper.

Marcy stuck her tongue out. "Ew!"

"Kiss your boyfriend!" Laura snapped as she wrapped her arms around Marc's neck.

"Cool!" Mal pulled Marcy forward and kissed her.

She hit him. "I will hurt you!"

"Ow!" He held his stomach.

Mike laughed.

"Hush up and get ready!" Laura bossed. "We're going to be late for dinner!"

Her younger siblings grumbled.

But they and Jude got dressed for Christmas dinner. They left their room with the kids and went down to the dining room, where food was set out on long buffet tables that was prepared by chefs and the family.

"Hey, you can sit wherever you want but make sure you stay where Daddy and I can see you, okay?" Marcy told the twins.

"Okay, Mommy!" They kissed their parents and ran off to find seats.

"Beth, make sure you stay where I can see you." Quinn bent to kiss Beth's cheek.

"Okay, Mommy. Can Sissy come with me?"

"I don't know, sweetie." Mercedes shook her head. "Rae can't walk yet."

"She walked to me."

"What?" Mercedes stilled.

"Yesterday. She walked to me and kissed me."

"I missed my baby's first steps?!"

"Put her down!" Mike pulled Raven away from Mercedes and set her on her feet. "Mal, record her!"

Mal whipped out his camera and focused on Raven. "You can do it, Rae!"

Mike stood a foot away from Raven and held her hands. "You can walk to Tio, can't you, Rae?"

Raven made a happy sound.

Mike let her go. "Come on. Walk to Tio."

Raven waved her hands, trying to adjust her equilibrium. She shrieked.

"Come on! You can do it!"

She took a wobbly step forward.

Mercedes gasped and shook Quinn. "She's doing it! She's walking!"

Raven gave a giggle and took another step.

"You got it!" Mike wiggled his fingers as he stretched out to her.

Raven pitched forward and ran the last few inches to Mike. She plod into him, giggling.

"That's my baby!" He hugged her.

Mercedes hugged Quinn, tears flowing down her face, rocking back and forth. "Mal, you have to send that to everyone!"

"I got it. I got it." Mal stopped recording.

Marcy took Raven from Mike and kissed her cheek. "You're such a smart girl!"

"Such a brave girl!" Laura rubbed her back.

Raven beamed.

Maddie took her and danced with her. "Tia's so proud of you!"

Marc swooped in and took her. "How's my big girl?!"

Quinn tickled her. "You did so good!"

Mercedes took her daughter and covered her in kisses. "I love you so much, my little coconut!"

Raven pushed her hands into her mother's hair and waved.

A bell sounded, letting them know it was time to be seated for dinner.

Mercedes set Raven on her feet. "You can take her, Beth but go slow. She's still unsteady."

"Okay, Tia Me." Beth held Raven's hand and walked slowly to find a place to sit down.

"Aww! So cute!" Laura dabbed at tears. "Maddie, go sit with Ashley and Carrie."

"I'm not sitting with Carrie!" Maddie refused.

"Maddie!"

"No!" Maddie ran off.

Laura set a hand on her disappearing hip. "That girl!"

"You can't make them be close." Marcy shook her head. "They'll find their way if it's meant to be."

"They're cousins; of course it's meant to be!"

"Go sit with Joanna."

Laura fumed.

Marcy tugged on Jude with a smile and walked off.

"No kiss?!" Mal shouted.

"Kiss yourself!"

"I'll find somebody to kiss!"

"Like me?" Daisy asked.

"Aunt Daisy!" Mal brightened. "Yes, I'll kiss you!"

"You know she's gone." Marc hooked a thumb in the direction Marcy had taken.

"So?!" Daisy hugged her favorite nephew close. "How's my special boy?"

"Aunt Daisy." Mal whined.

"I heard from Mother that your mean momma will be here next year. How you holding up?"

Mercedes pouted. "Marcy isn't doing too well with that. She's thinking of staying home."

"She bet not let that dragon run her away from her family!"

"That dragon is your sister." Laura pointed out.

"That's how I know she breathes fire. Between her and that uppity Marigold, I'm so glad we got the twins."

"And Uncle Jason." Mike pointed out.

"Ugh!" Daisy rolled her eyes. "He's older than a few people and he thinks he's the king of everything."

"We understand." Mike and Mal glared at Marc.

Marc glowered.

"Stop that, boy! Treat your little brothers kindly! They look up to you." Daisy commanded.

"Only cuz he's so big." Mike muttered.

"You stop that, too. You know you love your brother."

Mike made a face.

"Listen here, twerp-!" Marc made to grab him.

"Leave me alone or I'll tell Grandmom!"

"You can't hide behind her forever!"

"Yes, I can cuz she's gonna live forever!"

It was Daisy's turn to make a face.

"Aunt Daisy!" Laura lectured.

"Relax, girl. I'm not wishing death on my mother." Daisy told an untruth. "Now go sit so we can eat. Mally, sit next to me."

"I will!" Mal offered his arm.

She took it. "Kisses!"

Mercedes shook her head with a smile. "Come on, Lucy. I see Nat and Lond saving seats for us."

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Why are you like this?!" Mercedes cried.

"I don't know what you mean!" Marcy danced with her "money".

"Why are we even playing this game?! You're all sore sportsmen! It's insanity!"

"Whatever, loser!" Mal switched Marcy's $100 bill for 100 $1's and made it rain on her.

"I'm not a loser!" Mercedes was close to tears. "I'm not losing!"

"Lucy is." Laura sighed.

"I'm not that far behind!" Quinn protested.

"Yes, you are." Maddie piped up.

"As much as you are!"

Maddie stuck her tongue out.

"Guys!" Jeanette waved her hands to keep the calm. "Can we get through one family night without this?!"

"You're like this, too!" Mercedes accused.

Jeanette gasped as Michael laughed.

Marcus kissed Raven on his lap. "Your Gram is a sore winner. Let her play _Scrabble_."

"I still say Latin shouldn't count!" Mal grew angry.

"You shoulda learned it!" Marc pushed his head.

"If Latin shouldn't count, I say French shouldn't either!" Marcy said.

Mal looked wounded. "But-!"

"That's not fair!" Mercedes and Quinn shouted.

"How is it fair to me and Mikey?!" Marcy spat. "You all either know French or Latin and we don't!"

"Fine!" Judy waved her hands. "We can include Cheyenne."

"That's not fair!" The others protested. "How are we supposed to know if they're being honest?!"

"Hey, it is fair!" Mike thumped his chest.

"Yup!" Marcy cosigned.

"I say we settle this with a snowball fight!" Marc jumped up. "Last one standing gets to decide what languages count in _Scrabble_! Who's in?!"

"Us!" His younger siblings leapt to their feet.

"This is not going to end well…" Jeanette knew.

"Let's go!" Marc ignored her.

The seven ran to their outer gear and pulled on their things to traipse into the Fabrays' front yard.

It was blisteringly cold out but they didn't care as they formed then threw snowballs.

The adults and small children and Laura watched from the door.

In the end, Mike and Marcy won. And man, did they gloat about it.

"You cheated!" Mal swore.

"Don't hate!" Marcy danced against him.

"You did cheat!" Marc thundered.

"You got whooped fair and square loser!" Mike yelled.

"Never in your lifetime!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Happy birthday, Mike!"

Mike smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"We know you want to have a party when we get back to New York but this is just us." Mercedes hugged him.

"I don't need a party."

"You want a party." Marcy wasn't buying it.

"Just a small one."

"Dang!" Mal snapped his fingers. "Guess we gotta call off the strippers."

"What now?!" Jeanette swiveled to look at him.

"Mom, I'm joking!"

"What now?" Marcy lifted a brow.

"Marce, we were joking."

She sputtered.

"Marcy, you do not need to see some strippers when you have a girlfriend!" Jeanette set her hands on her hips.

"I don't need to do anything but live. I _want_ to see strippers and either I'm going to have the excuse of Mikey's birthday or I'm going on a random Tuesday."

Marcus and Michael hid their faces.

Jeanette smacked her lips.

"Are all of you going to see strippers?" Judy asked.

"Noah wanted to throw this for Mikey so no." Mercedes was bent out of shape about it, too. She didn't know about the strippers but she felt she should be at her big brother's birthday party, at least more than his friends.

"You have to watch Finn!" Quinn pointed at Marcy.

"You better hope I remember Finn's there." Marcy didn't care.

"She'll remember because we're not touching!" Mal stared Marcy in the eye to get her to promise.

"Yeah, yeah. No touching." She rolled her eyes.

"We're leaving tomorrow. We can iron out the details then." Mercedes waved a hand. "Now it's time for Mikey to open his gifts!"


	31. Chapter31

"How was your parents?" Mercedes hugged Anna tightly.

Anna made a face. "Mom wasn't happy but Daddy was. He took off work so we could spend time together. It was really great to see him."

"Good. I'm glad your relationship is getting back on track."

"How was Rae? Did she miss us?"

"I don't know." Mercedes frowned. "Sometimes she'd look around as if trying to find someone but…"

"Aww! My baby missed me!"

Mercedes giggled. "Come on. Let's unpack."

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Okay, Mike!" Puck rubbed his hands together. "Tonight is going to be awesome!"

"I've been to a strip club before." Mike shrugged.

"Damn, your life is fun." Puck was jealous.

"Does Tina know?" Finn asked with huge eyes.

"I don't think so?" Mike hunched his shoulders.

"Well this is going to be great and no one's telling the girls!" Puck eyed the others.

"Who's dumb enough to-?" Marcy looked at Sam. "Do not ruin this for us."

He gasped in outrage. "I wouldn't ruin it!"

"You've got that habit of telling Khandi things that you shouldn't because you're so scared you're going to ruin everything with secrets!"

"I've kept some secrets!"

"You better! Cuz this is one! I want to throw some fives on a girl just trying to pay rent and if that gets interrupted, I'ma hurt you!"

The guys laughed but Artie had to correct her. "No, Boo Thang. You throw ones."

"How is she supposed to pay rent with ones?! It's bad enough I'm being cheap with fives!"

"How much money do your parents give you for allowance?!"

"$10,000."

"A year?! Whoa!"

"A week. Stop it."

"You get $10,000 a week?!" Puck turned to face her.

"Yes."

"Do you all get that much?" Blaine was seriously surprised. He didn't even get that much and his family had money.

"Maddie still gets $1,000 and I only get $5,000 but the rest, yeah." Mike nodded.

"Why do you two get so much less?"

"Maddie's still a kid and I don't have any."

"What?" Sam was confused.

"When we're little, like really little, we get $50 a week. That's how much Lucy and Marcy and Mal give Beth and the twins."

"Wait a minute?!" Artie waved his hands. "Babies are getting a higher allowance that I ever got?!"

"It's not a lot. It's just $200 a month." Mal shrugged. "Mickey spends most of that on clothes."

"So how does $50 turn into $1,000?" Arnold asked.

"When we get to about third grade, we get an increase to $500."

"A third grader with $500 a week…" Artie blew out a breath.

"Anyway, once we turn thirteen, we get $1,000."

"So how do you get $5,000, Mike?" Finn wanted to know.

"When we turn 18, we get $5,000. But since my sisters had children, it became $5,000 automatically. But now they're all 18 so it had bumped up to twice as much. Marc and Laura had $5,000 but then they got married so it bumped up. Once Quad is born, it'll be $15,000." Mike explained.

"Once we get married, we'll get $15,000." Mal added.

Artie scratched his nose. "Okay, help me out. Didn't you get inheritances?"

"Yes." All three nodded.

"How much did you get?"

"That's rude, RT." Marcy chided before looking at Mike. "Right?"

Mike's eyes widened. "I think so."

Mal grimaced.

"Come on, BT. We're all cool here. How much did you get?" Artie cajoled.

"Go first." Marcy urged Mal.

Mal rubbed his nose. "Nine."

"Nine what?" Artie pushed.

"Nine million."

The group (excluding Karou and Jude) gasped. "Nine million bucks?!"

Mal shrugged. "What'd you get, Mike?"

Mike grinned. "11.4."

Mal grumped.

Marcy giggled.

"How much did you get, Marce?"

"How much did you get, Rou?" Marcy shook her head.

Karou thought about it. "13 something."

"Jude?"

"Jude got bank like that?!" The others were shocked.

Jude nodded. "My family is wealthy and although they aren't happy with me, I still received my inheritance."

"So how much did you get?!" Puck wanted to know.

"14.9 million."

Puck sucked in a breath. "Well!"

"Alright, Boo Thang! How much did you get?!" Artie demanded.

Marcy's lips moved but words didn't come out.

Sam leaned in close. "How much?"

Marcy lifted a shoulder and mumbled.

Mal lifted her chin and narrowed his eyes. "How much?"

"Fifteen and a half."

"What?!" Mike and Mal yelped. "That's not fair!"

"Shut up! You got more than me!" Mal yelled at his brother.

"I got more than Mercy and Lucy, too but they're not mad!" Mike didn't care.

"How much did they get?" Marcy asked.

"8.2 each."

"What?!" Puck and Finn yelled.

"You should be glad, Mal. Laura got seven and three quarters. You got more than her and them."

"Did you know how much you were going to get beforehand?" Arnold asked.

Karou shook her head. "No. And we have no idea who contributed what so it's not like we can know how it all added up."

"Pregunta?" Artie lifted a finger.

"Sí?" Marcy nodded once.

"Why do you work if you get inheritances and allowances?"

"We were taught work. You work until you drop dead."

"That sucks. I fully plan on retiring."

Marcy smiled. "You know that both Laura and Marc got their second inheritances?"

"Second?" The guys uttered.

"We get three." Mike said. "We told you that years ago. 18, 21 and 30. And whenever someone dies but we don't like to dwell on that."

"How much did they get?" Blaine normally would never ask but he had to know.

"Laura got 115 and Marc got 227."

"Million?!" They leaned forward.

"Yes."

Puck clutched his chest. "Will all of you get money like that?!"

They shrugged.

"So Mama has 8.2 million right now?"

"More or less." Mike leaned back. "Actually less because of buying the apartments or maybe more because of work but yeah, pretty much."

"Whoa." Finn felt sick. "What are they doing with us?"

"They love you?" Marcy gave him a look.

"But they could be with anyone."

"Anyone with money you mean?" Marcy lifted a brow.

"Well yeah. I've never heard about those numbers let alone seen it."

"It's just money. And we get money from a lot of things. We get money from modeling and appearances and things we've done in the past. I've written a plethora of books. Mercy finished one and it's in the process of being published-"

"Why aren't you published?" Artie broke in.

"I am."

"Why'd you say written but stated that she's getting published?"

"Because it's her first time getting published. She's very shy with her writing. I've been published since I before turned twelve."

"Why haven't we read anything? Why haven't we heard about you? Why haven't you said anything?!"

"You probably haven't read anything. You haven't heard because I publish under a pseudonym and I haven't said anything because I'm private about my writing, too!"

"I want to read something!"

"Pick up a book!"

"I want to read something of yours!"

"No!"

"How can you have a fake name and people still don't recognize you?" Blaine wanted to know. "Have you ever won any awards?"

"Yes. I've won awards and made lists but no one knows what I look like. My author's picture is a painting I did when I was five. On the back, my info is very vague."

"Are you that private about it?" Sam wanted to know. "Why do you do it at all if you don't want anyone to know it's you?"

"Writing isn't about recognition. It's about telling a story. Yours or someone else's. I have stories to tell so I tell them."

"Can I read one of your stories?"

"Please?" Blaine begged.

Marcy sighed. "Fine. Look up Lily Emerald."

"Who's Lily Emerald?"

She gave him a look.

"It's you! Why that name?"

"Just look it up or don't."

"We'll look it up." He took out his phone.

The guys each took out their phones and looked up the name.

"Whoa!" Puck whistled lowly. "That's a lot of books!"

"I started out publishing poetry then went into children's books. Then I did young adult and adult." Marcy shrugged. "I still do poetry and children's but not as much."

"I'm going to try this kids' book." Puck decided.

"Which one?"

" _Kaden and the Space Cadet_."

"Cool."

"Mally loves that one." Mal smiled. "He wants to grow up to be an astronaut."

"I want to read _Not Your Fault_." Blaine frowned. "It sounds really good."

"Where's that?" Matt wanted to read it.

"I like the sound of _Royal Flush_." Arnold was already downloading it.

"Man, me too but I think I'm going to start on _Chain of Idiots_ first!" Artie checked the listing. "Wait! It's a series!"

"I think I'm going to go for a kids book." Finn decided. " _Trouble in Cookieland_ sounds good."

"I don't know what to get." Sam bit his bottom lip.

"Try _SpaceNerds!_." Marcy suggested.

"Really?!" He lit up. "I didn't know you did science fiction!"

"The only time I did." She lied.

"I'll read it tonight." He smiled.

"No!" Puck waved his right hand. "No! We're not readin nothin tonight cuz we're gon get fucked up!"

"What?" Blaine stared at him.

"Oh yeah! We're getting trashed tonight! If you can still move by the end of the night, we're filling you up with beer!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"How's your head?" Mercedes kissed Puck's cheek.

Puck groaned. "Not so loud, Mama."

"You shouldn't have been drinking like that in the first place." She chided softly.

"Please don't yell at me."

"Nobody's yelling at you. But you do have to get up. We're about to go grocery shopping and you have to watch the girls."

"You're back from church?" He lifted his head blearily.

"Yes. I got Rae dressed without you."

"I'm sorry I missed you getting dressed."

She slapped his chest. "Get up, Noah."

"Where's Kick?" He asked instead.

"Playing with Rae; now get up!"

He flinched. "Okay!"

She climbed from the bed and went to the door. "I'm serious, Noah! If I come back and find you in bed still, we're going to have a problem!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"And he was in Rae's room, asleep on the floor!" Mercedes huffed with an eye-roll.

Santana, Brittany and Marcy giggled as Timbaland laughed.

Artie grimaced. "Poor dude!"

"What exactly happened?" Mercedes wanted to know. "What did you guys do all night?"

"Fed him drinks." Marcy grinned.

"Marcy!"

"Well it was funny. He insisted on getting blackout drunk so I'd switch his drinks with mine."

"You usually order strong spirits. That's not funny, Marcy. Think about his liver."

"Whatever. He's lucky I didn't slip a pill in and leave him in the men's room with his pants undone and mouth open."

"You are so dark, woman." Artie eyed her fearfully. "Is that where your pranks go?"

She looked at him for a long time before switching her gaze to her sister. "I got kids. I can't be getting blackout drunk."

"When has that ever stopped you from getting drunk, just because you have the twins?" Mercedes demanded. "You got drunk on vacation!"

"Because Mal was _sober_. Both of us can't be drunk at the same time."

"Ellen could have handled the twins."

Marcy was already shaking her head. "Not yet. Maybe it's a mama bear thing but nope."

"She's a mama bear. She wouldn't let anything happen to the twins."

"She's a baby mama bear. She can't stop anything from happening to her let alone them."

"She's got you there, Wheezy." Santana shrugged. "Elle Woods is soft. Like Girl Chang or Dwarf or your girl."

"Annie's not soft!" Mercedes frowned. "And the others are very strong women!"

"You can be strong and soft." Marcy pointed out. "It's called duality."

"Marcy, stop it. You detest anything soft."

"I care about Ellen a great deal!" Marcy was offended.

"Ooh!" Santana and Artie teased as Brittany cooed.

Mercedes smiled. "You do?"

"Aren't we supposed to be making an album?" Marcy scowled. "It's bad enough we're taking time out for Mal's show."

Mal's boss declared Mal ready for his first show and wanted to show the world his protégé and how far Mal had come under his tutelage.

Marcy still didn't like or trust Antoll.

"That's going to be so much fun! Marc and Laura will make it!" Mercedes gushed.

"Ugh!" Marcy's lip curled.

"Don't you want to support Mal?" Brittany asked.

"I thought we were talking about Puckerman's low tolerance?" There was no way she could answer that honestly so she didn't.

"He doesn't have a low tolerance, you're just drinking milk!" Mercedes griped.

Marcy stuck her tongue out.

 _ **M-A-P**_

Marcy tied Mal's tie. "You can go now."

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait for you guys?" He fidgeted greatly.

"Go. You need to be there early and we'll make it on time." She kissed him.

"You can wear that." He held her away from him.

"I'm wearing your old jersey and yoga pants." She blinked at him.

He cupped her bottom.

"Boy, get away from me!" She laughed. "Now go!"

"Okay!" He grumped before kissing her. "For luck."

"Uh huh." She pushed him from the closet and out the bedroom door to the staircase.

He huffed and set his shoulders before going downstairs.

She went to the twins' room and gave them a bath before getting them dressed. As she was brushing Mickey's hair, Ellen walked in. "Is he gone?"

"Yeah. How was your bath?"

Ellen blew out a breath. "I'm still a little nervous but I'm not hyperventilating anymore. I just can't believe he's doing his first show-!"

"Elle!" Marcy barked. "Do you need another bath?!"

"I don't know. Maybe?" Ellen held her stomach.

"Mama!" Mally walked over and hugged her legs.

"Hi, sweetie." Ellen picked him up and inhaled his clean baby scent.

"Mommy, bed?" Mickey looked up at her mother.

"Not yet, babe." Marcy righted her head so she could put the bow in.

Mickey pouted. Ever since the freedom of Buenos Aires, she and her brother had wanted big kid beds but their parents wanted to wait for the weekend so they'd have time to rebuild the cribs. She was impatient like her mommy.

"Okay, you're done. I'm going to close the door and you better not let those puppies in. You also bet not get dirty either."

"Okay, Mommy." Mickey stood up.

"Come on, Elle. We have to get dressed and in my case, take a shower."

 _ **M-A-P**_

"This is so beautiful!" Tina looked around.

"Yeah, Pipsqueak has talent." Mike sighed heavily.

"Mike." She bumped his arm.

He grinned.

She threaded her arm through his (his hands were in his pockets). "I really love this."

It was a picture of Marcy, Ellen and the twins. It was candid.

"I saw a few of them." Them meant pictures of his family. Mike set off in a direction, Tina having no choice but to keep up with him.

"What's your favorite?"

"T!" Mercedes was loud.

Mike laughed. "That one."

Tina giggled. "I'm telling her you called her a "that"."

"She won't even notice."

"Of course she will."

"Bet seven kisses?"

"You're on." They shook hands.

Mercedes, Anna, Puck and Raven broke through the crowd. The mom hugged the former goth. "I was wondering where you went!"

"Here. Just admiring all the pics. Mike called you a that!" Tina spilled.

Mike side-eyed his girlfriend for that delivery before smoothing it all over. "I said you were my favorite."

Mercedes screamed loudly before hugging him. "I'm your favorite?! Really?!"

Mike grinned smugly at Tina. "Really."

"Eek! I gotta tell Lucy! Oh, I can't tell Lucy! But I gotta tell Lucy! Can I tell Marcy?"

Mike smiled at her indulgently. "No. You can't tell anybody."

She pouted. "Okay…"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Who is that?" Ellen had gone pale.

"A new patient at St. Margaret's." Marcy folded her arms across her chest.

"Who are you looking at and why are you threatening her?" Blaine wanted to know.

"That skinny, flat tramp."

"Oh, Marcy."

Kurt smiled. "She does look like she's hanging off him. You haven't met her before?"

"I would remember her-" Ellen gasped. "Do you think it's that Tia girl?!"

Marcy massaged her forehead. "It is going to be a problem, I see that right now."

"Who's Tia?" Blaine wanted to know. "I thought it meant "aunt" in Spanish? That's what the kids call you and your sisters."

"It is but Tia is an actual name. This chick's name apparently." Marcy narrowed her gaze. "Stay here."

"Marcy, what are you going to do?" Ellen grabbed her arm.

"I'm just going to talk to her."

"Why do I feel like your talk is going to involve violence?" Blaine worried.

"Calm down, boy. I'll be back." Marcy kissed Ellen's cheek to calm her before walking over to Mal and the mystery girl.

"Mommy?" Mally played with his fingers.

"I think Mommy's going to jail." Kurt told him gleefully.

Marcy stopped when she got to Mal. "Hey."

"Hey, Marce!" Mal was completely relaxed now. He was surrounded by people in his field and he was being admired. It was new to him but boy, did he love it!

"I told you, you were going to be fine."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "Gentlemen, Tia, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Marceline Anne. Marce, this is Professor Crumb and Count Ryan. And this is Tia, Antoll's assistant."

"Hello." Marcy smiled at the men. "You must be very prestigious to be acquainted with Mr. Anelli."

Professor Crumb blushed and waved a hand with an embarrassed smile. "Not very prestigious. I've only five works published."

"Five?! My goodness! That's so awesome! Where can I find them? I'd love to purchase at least one."

His blush worsened. "Oh, Amazon has them. It's just a collection of pictures. You wouldn't want to view them."

"Of course I would. I enjoy every aspect of art and being with Mal only expands my interest in photography."

Count Ryan made an approving face. "Great gel you have here."

"I love her." Mal wrapped an arm around Marcy and smiled.

"Oh no. He's the great one." Marcy shook her head. "He's really amazing. He's so talented. I'm very proud of him."

Mal glowed.

The men couldn't get enough of her but the girl, Tia, didn't like Marcy at all. And Marcy could feel it. Mostly because she wasn't paying attention to these men. She was feeling out the young girl who kept trying to get between her and Mal.

Count Ryan just finished telling a story about being on safari that they all laughed at when Marcy cleared her throat. "I'm parched. Would you care to get refreshments with me, Tia?"

Tia wanted to say no but they all were looking at her so she pulled her lips into a smile. "I'd like that."

"You're so accommodating."

"Come back soon." Mal figured he could get away with a kiss in public since she was being so nice. He didn't expect for her to deepen it. He kind of forgot they were in public as he brought her closer.

Professor Crumb laughed, breaking the spell. "Young love!"

Mal backed away, his eyes burning for Marcy, if not his very body.

She pinched his cheek before taking Tia's arm and leading her away. She threw a wink over her shoulder.

He felt warm inside. His life was great. Maybe he could find Ellen…?

 _ **M-A-Pish**_

Marcy opened the door to the stairwell and threw Tia inside. The girl stumbled but regained her footing. Marcy shut the door and came closer, crossing her arms.

Tia backed away. "What do you want?"

"Nothing." Marcy leaned against a wall.

"I thought you wanted food?"

"Not hungry. For food anyway."

"Well I can't help you!" Tia tried to rush past Marcy but the older girl stepped in her way.

"See you can. Mal and I are in a relationship. There's another in our relationship. Her name is Ellen. It's just us three and our kids."

Tia's bottom lip trembled. She knew Mal had kids because he talked about them all the time and even showed her pictures. "Kids?"

"Yeah. And one day there'll be more of them. A house full between the two of us. We have dogs and livestock. A home together. Friends and family. You see where I'm going with this?"

Tia shook her head mulishly.

"There's no room for you." Marcy said bluntly.

Tia swallowed hard. "He could feel trapped!"

"But he doesn't."

"You don't know!"

"Did you miss that kiss? He does not feel trapped. At least not by our relationship and life together. Now I'd advise you to keep your hands and your emotions to yourself. Or you're going to see me. And you don't want to see me. Get it?"

Tia backed away as Marcy stalked closer. Her foot wobbled as it hung over the top stair and she almost fell but Marcy caught her arm.

"We wouldn't want any accidents, would we?"


	32. Chapter32

"We need you to put out a single."

Marcy blinked. "Okay…"

Percy narrowed his eyes. "Just okay? No fighting?"

"Why would I fight?"

"You're working very hard on your sister's album. You've gotten all your music done for yours but there's no vocals."

"I know. We were trying to find everyone and make sure we meshed. But we're all cool so we can totally go ahead with laying down vocals."

"You know it'll be too late to be nominated for a Grammy."

"We'll get 'em next year. We want it perfect so it'll be nominated, right?"

"I've heard from Tim that you and Artie are perfectionists."

"That's such an ugly and unfair word. I just like things to be right."

He raised a brow and pursed his lips. "Uh huh. Well get to laying down vocals. I'll bring in a camera crew so it can also be your first video."

She gulped. "First video?"

"Yes. It'll be a behind the scenes type with minimum outdoors shots but relax. It'll be very low-key."

She stared at him, wide-eyed, hoping it was. She didn't do "big" well. "Okay. I'll call the guys and get them in. When?"

"As soon as possible."

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Our first video is going to be in a warehouse." Mercedes frowned lightly.

"I didn't think this far." Marcy murmured.

"You'll do fine, MarcAn." Quinn soothed. "I know you hate attention but it's coming. You have to prepare yourself for it."

Marcy shook as if ice slid down her spine. Her teeth chattered.

"Hey?" Mal took her hands and blew on them. "You can do this. I believe in you."

Her tremors subsided. "Thanks."

"Want me to sit in?" Mike asked.

She thought about it. She shouldn't rely on him to help her but she honestly needed him. "Yes."

"Good. I was coming anyway."

She smiled.

"What are you guys telling Anna and Ellen about all the late hours you're keeping? Does Puck know?"

"No, Noah does not know." Mercedes sipped her tea and shook her head. "I had Lucy tell him I had appearances."

"Why exactly are you lying to him?" Mal pushed.

"We agreed we wouldn't tell anyone."

"Until it was more concrete. You're both about to drop singles. Lucy is going to start recording within months. It's concrete."

"He's right." Mike shrugged.

"When are you going to tell people you got the lead in _Fall's Song_?" Marcy spat waspishly.

His lips thinned. "I don't want to brag."

"How is it bragging, Mikey?!" Mercedes demanded. "They came to Juilliard to see prospective dancers and your professor told them about _you_! That's a big deal!"

"It is, Mikey." Quinn cosigned. "You earned that on your own."

Mike sighed and scratched his head before eying them seriously. "Okay, you tell, I'll tell."

His sisters grimaced but put their hands in the middle of the table. He put his on top. Mal put his on his brother's. They all looked to him. "I didn't want to be left out."

They threw food at him. "Oh, Mal!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"What's this meeting about?" Kurt asked. "Is it more mental health stuff?"

"No, no! Nothing like that!" Mercedes assured him. "We've just been keeping secrets from you."

"Is that all?" Artie taunted.

"Shut up! You know it!" Marcy hit him.

"Ow!"

"Is it our secret?" Brittany rocked her son.

"Yes." Quinn nodded.

"Why are you telling now?" Santana wanted to know.

"You guys know?" Tina looked between the thruple and the Fabangeses.

"Yeah, we know." Santana burped Ana.

Artie messed with her as she tried to pass gas. "Who's going to tell it?"

"Lucy is." Mercedes lost her nerve.

Quinn glared at her before facing their friends. "We've got record deals."

"Record deals?" Their friends echoed.

"Grandmom called in a favor to a record company here. He contacted our agent and she set up an audition. He signed us then and there."

"Who's us?" Rachel wanted to know. "All of you?"

"No!" The Chang boys shook their heads and waved their arms.

"Us three." Quinn told her.

"Why do Artie, Santana and Brittany know?" Anna asked.

"Because I signed as a group." Mercedes explained. "Tana and Britt are part of my group."

"Wait a minute!" Puck raised a hand. "Is that why you asked Finn and Sam to be in a band with you?!"

"How'd you know we-? Finn!" Marcy frowned.

Finn flinched. "I'm sorry! It just slipped out! But I didn't say anything about the contract, I swear!"

"So Sam and Finn know?" Kurt pressed. "What about Artie? Is he in the band, too?"

"We thought Artie producing would be great." Quinn shrugged.

"He's doing great." Marcy added.

"Marcy had the awesome idea of you playing for the label." Mercedes patted Puck's chest as he looked supremely down. "If Mr. Gunn likes your playing, maybe he'll keep you on and you can become part of a house band?"

"Really?" Puck was still hurt.

"Really. I have your appointment all worked out and everything."

His lips lifted. "Alright."

"What about us?!" Kurt cried.

"Everybody else is über busy." Mercedes shrugged. "You have school and Vogue and the diner, T has school and the show, Rachel has school and her show, Annie has school and her job at the art gallery, Ellen has school and the bakery."

"What about your brothers?" Blaine hoped no one would notice that she left out his name.

Kurt gasped. "What about my Blaine?!"

Blaine sighed. "Actually I have an announcement myself. I've been sponsored by a remarkable benefactor to put on a show in the spring. I didn't know how to tell anyone but Marcy."

"Not even me?" Kurt was hurt.

"She doesn't want anyone else involved and I couldn't tell you something like that."

Kurt's lips firmed. "I understand." He took Blaine's hand and turned to Mercedes. "What about your brothers?"

Mercedes giggled. "Mal is busy with school and work and Mikey? Well Mikey has his own news."

Mike sighed and stood as everyone looked at him. "I auditioned for this show called _Fall's Song_. I got the lead."

Tina jumped up and ran to embrace him. She jumped up and down hugging him. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Really?" He was embarrassed by her outpouring of emotion.

"Of course I am!" She kissed him.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ellen looked at Marcy.

Who shrugged. "We didn't tell anybody because it was all up in the air. We wanted things more settled. Now they are."

"You still should've told us." Karou snapped. "But I am happy for you guys."

"You didn't know?" Anna was surprised.

"Nope! But that's okay! I was picked up for this play this summer so…" Karou stuck her tongue out.

Marcy smiled. "What play?"

" _Coming to the Light_."

"I've never heard of that play." Rachel frowned.

"It's new. It's only off Broadway. I can't wait to tell everyone all about it."

"So you're going to wait for Christmas or you're going to tell Jessie?" Marcy teased.

Karou bristled. "I'm telling Jessie!"

Mercedes elbowed Mike.

Who jumped. "You'll be able to tell them before Christmas anyway."

"Why? How?" Karou wanted to know.

"Well you know how Grandmom was extra happy?"

"I thought it was because Aunt Marigold was getting divorced?"

"Classic!" Marcy slapped hands with Mal.

Quinn giggled.

"Guys!" Mercedes chastised. "It's not funny!"

Karou crossed her arms. "Humph!"

Mike's lips twitched. "No, it wasn't because of Aunt Marigold. It was because she wants to plan a family reunion."

"A family reunion?!"

"Yeah. She told me all about it in Buenos Aires but she also called me yesterday to ask me where a good place to have it was. She's serious."

Karou's mouth fell open. "What'd you tell her?"

"It should be somewhere warm but she said she wants it to be a week long and sometime this summer."

"A week long?!" The others echoed.

"When I brought up that people might be too busy, she brought out the grandma card and said she'd make it two weeks if I didn't stop." He sighed.

"Well at least you'll see your family?" Tina hoped that was something he wanted.

He shrugged. "I guess."

"When's your show?"

"We're rehearsing in a couple weeks and it'll start once the school year is over."

"I'm going to be the first one in line for tickets!"

He kissed her lightly. "Thanks, T."

 _ **M-A-P**_

Puck didn't play guitar much without singing so it was a bit odd for him to audition without opening his mouth. But he did it.

Percy nodded. "You're good. You got talent, kid."

"Thank you." Puck stood awkwardly.

"You got the job. Talk to my assistant about finding HR and signing contracts and all that."

"Okay. Will do. Thanks. Bye." Puck left while he was ahead.

Mercedes and Anna rushed up to him. "How'd it go?!"

"He hired me." Puck was a bit stunned.

They hugged and kissed him. "Yay! I knew it!"

"I have to talk to his assistant." He started for the desk.

"That's his receptionist, Alicia." Mercedes pulled him back and pushed him down the hall. "You're looking for Jolene."

He nodded. "Got it."

 _ **M-A-P**_

"Cut!" The director yelled. "You look like I've killed your family and you're next!"

Marcy blinked and looked down.

"She's nervous!" Sam supported her.

"I think the cameras freak her out." Finn noticed Marcy had been tense since the cameramen first entered the studio.

"She's got to get over that." Percy hoped this would pan out. What's the use of a shy rockstar?

Sam and Finn went into the booth and put themselves between her and the cameras.

"You don't have to do this." Sam said.

"But if you do, we'll help you." Finn added.

She took a deep breath. "I have a headache. Can you bring me my purse and a bottle of juice?"

Sam left to get the items.

Finn tried to catch Marcy's eye. "Are you okay? Can you do this?"

"It's what I signed on for." She avoided his gaze.

Sam came back and handed her what she'd requested. "Here you go."

She took out a pill bottle and took a tablet, drinking the juice nearly to the bottom. Just knowing she took the decidedly not aspirin made her feel more calm. "Can you guys stay in here? Just sit on the floor by me?"

"Sure thing." Finn nodded.

Both sat and Marcy set aside her purse and the bottle. She brushed her hair out of her face and nodded. "Let's go again."

The director waved his hands animatedly. "Finally! And we're rolling!"

Marcy closed her eyes and opened her mouth. Words poured out and she felt them in her soul. Whenever she opened her eyes, she'd look down and see Finn and Sam smiling up at her and she'd smile back.

When the take was finished, both popped up to embrace her. "You did good!"

"Get off me. But thanks."

"Come out so the guys can go in!" Percy demanded over the speaker in an not unkind voice.

"I guess I'll let you guys get to it." Marcy pushed Sam's shoulder playfully.

"All you needed was headache medicine." Sam teased.

Marcy smiled. "Yep!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

"I'm so fat!" Brittany wailed.

"Britt, stop it!" Mercedes and Santana snapped.

"Look at my stomach!"

"You had a baby a month ago!" Mercedes swatted her.

"Are you calling me fat, too because I weigh more than you." Santana demanded.

Brittany pouted. "No. I love you at any size."

"And we love you at any size!"

Brittany flattened her hands over her overall covered stomach. "I'm sorry. I hate being like this. When will I be normal again?"

"It'll take a while." Mercedes muttered with an eye-roll. "I'm still crazy."

"You're not crazy!"

Mercedes hugged her. "Thank you, Britt-Bratt."

Brittany snuggled into her. "Will I be like you? You lost weight and became even more of a bombshell. I want curves like you."

Mercedes laughed. "You have curves like you!"

"I only got curves because I was pregnant. What if they go away?"

"They probably won't. Just pray on it."

Santana laughed. "I do gotta thank Ana for giving me the boobs I've always wanted!"

"There you go! Just think about the bright-side! Meanwhile, we've a video we gotta knock out. Are you ready?!"

The girlfriends hugged their friend. "Ready!"

 _ **M-A-P**_

Tina ran through the house screaming.

Kurt followed behind, much slower and very amused.

Mercedes ran from Raven's room. "What's going on?!"

"Your single! I just bought your single!" Tina held her and shook like a crackhead needing a fix.

Mercedes laughed unexpectedly. "You did?"

"I did, too but with much less screaming." Kurt smirked.

"It's so good! It's so good!" Tina rocked with Mercedes. "You guys sound amazing together!"

"I especially like the photo used."

Mercedes blushed. The outfits weren't provocative but the poses were. "Thank you."

"Oh, the pleasure was all mine." He smiled wickedly.

"Kurt!" She blushed and covered her face.

"He's being naughty but he's so right! It was very sexy!" Tina snapped her fingers.

Mercedes laughed. "Did you buy Marce's yet?"

"I checked yours first." Tina let her go and scrolled through her phone to look up Marcy's name. "I still think Eve's Garden is the perfect name for their band."

"The guys wanted her to name them and that's what she came up with." Mercedes shrugged. "We shouldn't have given Tana lead on ours. The Troubletones sounds like we're bad."

"You are. You have Tana." Kurt teased.

Mercedes laughed.

"Oh! Here it is!" Tina flapped a hand excitedly. She hit **buy** and downloaded the song.

Kurt went to find it so he could download it, too.

Once Tina's was downloaded, she played it and began dancing.

Mercedes laughed again. "T, you're crazy!"

Tina stopped throwing her hair all over the place. "But it's so upbeat! I love it!"

Kurt frowned. "Are you listening to the words?! It's so dark!"

"I doubt it's all that dark." She pushed her hair from her face.

"Listen to what she's saying."

Tina stopped trying to dance and just listened. Her eyes rounded. "It _is_ dark!"

"Marcy's a great writer." Mercedes lifted a shoulder. "I thank you guys for buying our music but I have to finish getting Rae ready for the day and fix breakfast."

"Okay." Tina hugged Mercedes again. "I'm so happy for you guys."

"Me too." Kurt added his arms.

Mercedes hugged them tight. "Thank you. And don't forget to lock the door behind you."

"We won't." They left.

She went back inside Raven's room. Anna looked up from rocking in the rocking chair with the baby. "Kurt and T bought our singles. They just wanted to let us know."

"That's so nice." Anna smiled. "I'll buy it later today."

"Oh thank you, suga!" Mercedes kissed her repeatedly.

Anna giggled. Raven touched her mother's face and giggled as well.

Mercedes kissed her, too. "Now come on! It's time for breakfast!"


	33. Chapter33

Mercedes rang the doorbell. It chimed inside the large house and before long someone opened the door. "Hi, China!"

China brightened. "Hey, Mercy! Hey, guys!" She hugged her cousins. "Come in!"

"How's the princess doing?" Marcy asked after her hug.

"Stop that, Marcy!" China giggled.

"Yeah, she's more the queen of everything." Mike drawled.

Mercedes swatted him. "Come on here!"

Mal snickered. "You can't talk about her blueprint."

Mercedes reached for him but he ran behind Marcy. "Ooh! You get on my nerves!"

He stuck his tongue out.

Marcy massaged her temple. "Look here. I'm too sober for this junk. Either shut up or give me something."

"You don't need any of that!" China shut the door behind them. "This is a dry baby shower!"

"Pass!"

Quinn laughed. "This is going to be such a headache."

"Lucy!" China chided.

"It is! If everything isn't her way, she's so upset but now that she's pregnant?! Ugh!"

"I'm so glad I'm the oldest girl." Karou rolled her eyes.

"You guys are bad." India hugged her older sister, hanging off her.

"Whatever. Where's Paris?" Marcy didn't care about all that.

China brightened. "She and Lond are here. They got in last night."

"How many people are here?" Mercedes asked.

"Quite a few aunts and cousins. Luc and I are staying here but everyone else is in hotels."

"What about our parents?"

"Aunt Jeanette and Aunt Judy are in the kitchen-"

"Oh no!" The blonde's kids paled.

China giggled. "Stop that! She's not cooking anything!"

They blew out breaths. "Whoo!"

She laughed. "Uncle Marcus and Uncle Michael are in Marc's mancave with the guys."

Mercedes looked around the wide foyer. "She's going to have to give us a tour. This is a beautiful house."

"She'd love to. She's been showing everyone around for the past two days."

"Then let's hit it." Marcy pushed her forward. "Come on, babies! We're about to see Tia Lay."

China laughed and led them into the living room, where Laura was holding court in the middle of a pile of presents and group of female relatives.

Laura squealed when she saw her younger siblings. "Hi!"

"Laura!" Mercedes ran to give her a hug, poor Raven squished between them. The baby screeched at being smushed.

"Sorry, Rae-Rae!" Laura took her and kissed her face.

"Hi, Tia Lay!" Beth, Mally and Mickey ran to her.

She set Raven on her lap and hugged each of them. "Hi, my babies!"

Mal hugged her. "Happy baby shower, big sis."

"Thank you so much, Mal." She cupped his chin. "Get over here you three!"

Mike, Quinn and Marcy groaned before slepping over to give her a hug.

"Hey, Lady." Marcy said flatly.

"Yeah, hi." Quinn sighed.

Mike grunted.

Laura hit all three. "I'm having a baby and the least you could do is be here for me! It's not like I'm asking for too much and you do me like this-!"

"Alright!" Marcy grimaced. "Stop crying! We'll pep it up!"

Laura sniffled. "Good."

"Ugh…" Mike rubbed her shoulder. "Where's Marc?"

"In his mancave with all the men. Go on. Leave me. It's not like I want to see you or anything."

"Cool." Mike tried to leave but she caught the back of his shirt. "Or how about I get you something to drink?"

"That's more like it, runt!"

He walked out grumbling about how he couldn't wait for her to "drop that kid".

Mal sat next to her. "Don't you love me the most?"

"Even Marc is getting on my nerves." Laura sighed. "I don't want to go to Pittsburg but it's the Superbowl so I can't stay home."

"You're heavily pregnant." Mercedes frowned. "I'm sure he'll understand."

"He says I'm his good luck charm. I can't mess with that."

The athletes nodded.

"So I'm going to suck it up and be with him. He better win!"

Marcy smiled. "There's twenty other guys on the team."

"Yeah, but Marc does most of the work." Quinn flipped her hair.

The girls giggled.

 _ **M-A-P**_

Mike tiptoed behind his big brother and put him in a headlock.

Marc flipped him over the couch. "You can't win, twerp!"

Mike rolled onto the floor, popped up and glared. "I'm going to get you one of these days!"

Marc snorted. "Whatever. You just got here?"

"Not really." Mal let it be known he was nearby.

"What took you so long?"

"Hey, Dad. Hey, Pop." Mike hugged his dads. "Your wife took us so long! She wouldn't leave me alone!"

"She wanted to hold him and he wouldn't let her until she cried." Mal expounded.

Marc narrowed his eyes. "You can't be nice to her?! She's pregnant!"

"That's _your_ fault!" Mike bit off.

"Look here, twerp-!" Marc stood.

"Boys!" Michael warned.

"Can't you be accommodating for Cupcake?" Marcus asked. "She _is_ pregnant."

"But Pop,-!" Mike tried.

"Be nice to your sister!" Michael barked.

Mike sulked.

Mal laughed.

"You three are always fighting." Joey smirked.

"Don't you hate Johnnie?!" They groused.

"Hey! John sucks."

Jamie laughed. "I'm so glad I'm the oldest."

"Loser!" Franz and Hans sneered.

"You guys are idiots." Freddie shook his head.

"Being the oldest isn't easy." Kerani spoke up.

"That's cuz you got that crazy Rou to deal with and Karan isn't far behind." Mal mocked.

"I'm scared for Kari." Mike snickered. "Will she be like you or will she take after her twin and big sister?"

"Guys!" Kerani frowned. "There's nothing wrong with my siblings!"

"We live with Karou. We know how whacked out she is now."

Kerani narrowed his eyes.

Mal smiled. "Let's call her in here. I bet she acts crazy within three seconds."

"I'll take that wager!" Joey held up his wallet.

"I'm in!" Jamie waved a finger.

Marc laughed. "It's not much of a bet if only Ani thinks she won't be a nutjob."

"He can afford it." Hans grinned.

"I'll vote in favor of my little cuz." Freddie said. "She needs someone to stick up for her."

Kerani felt better. "Thanks, Fred!"

"So what's the stakes?" Monty asked. "Just her saying something weird or what?"

"It's got to include her doing something weird, too." Mike put in. "She's good for that."

Kerani growled. "My sister's not weird!"

"That's a lie." Marcy snorted, scaring the crap out of all of them.

"Hey?!" Karou was hurt.

"How long have you been standing there?!" The men demanded.

"Long enough that none of you are getting paid." Marcy shrugged. "We're bored. Entertain us."

"Where are our kids?" Mal demanded.

"In this big house surrounded by family." She pulled on his growing hair and made him face her. "Entertain me."

"Why I always gotta entertain you? Why can't you entertain me?!"

"I'm not taking my clothes off."

He smiled accidentally. "That's not the only way to entertain me."

"But it's your favorite."

Well she was right… He shrugged. "I thought Laura wanted you guys around?"

"She kicked us out." Karou lifted her shoulders as if she'd done nothing wrong.

"Just you two?" Marc raised a brow.

"P, too but she went to the bathroom." Marcy sat on the back of the couch. "So this is your man cave?"

"Yup! Welcome to the Thunderdome!"

"It's dark as hell in here."

"Sweetpea!" Marcus chastised.

"Hi, Daddy!" She threw herself forward, completely crushing Marc in her haste to hug her father.

"I've missed you, too but be good. Please."

She smiled. "Okay, Daddy."

"She just lied to you, Pop." Mal told him.

Marcy swatted him with her foot. "Is it hot in this state or is it just me?!"

"California's hot…" Marc said drolly. "Hey, some of my teammates and their wives are coming to this thing. I can't wait for you to meet them."

"Big, burly football players? Count me in."

Mal picked up her foot and shook it. "Hi. Remember me?"

"Who is you?"

The guys laughed at his scowl.

 _ **M-A-P**_

Marc sat down next to Laura and took her hand. "We want to say thanks everybody for coming. We really appreciate it."

"He's right." Laura dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "You're our support system and we need every last one of you."

"No cry, Tia!" Mally shouted.

"Thank you, baby!"

The party laughed.

"Well we support you through this new phase in your lives." China stood up. "We love you both so very much."

"We love you!" Laura held her arms open for a hug.

China hugged her. "I love you so much, Cuz!"

"Right back at you, Cuz!"

"This is getting old!" Marcy said loudly.

They broke apart, wiping away tears. "Poo!"

"Let's get this party started before the baby comes!"

"You're so impatient, devil!" Laura frowned in her direction.

"I am and you're so sweet- come on! I'll go back to the hotel and go to sleep!"

"Alright! Alright! What do you have planned, C?"

"Well we have games and prizes and treats!" China clapped her hands together.

"Ooh! Treats!" Karou mocked.

"Mom!" Laura called.

"Girls." Judy sighed.

Karou stuck out her tongue at Laura. "Sorry, Aunt Judy."

"You two are just bad!" Laura snapped.

"Wait a minute!" Marcy's mouth fell open as Mal laughed. "I didn't say anything!"

Marc chuckled. "Maybe this will be fun after all?"

 ** _M-A-P_**

"Grandmother…" Laura said feebly.

Xhi-Xhi smiled. "You like her?"

"I wasn't going to use a nanny."

"Nonsense! You're young and a busy woman. Marcus Donald is busy working. You'll need help."

"But we want to raise Quad on our own."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Marcy snapped.

"You guys had twins. We're only having one baby. Plus Marionette takes care of Beth and Rae and now your friends' kids. She's busy. We're not."

"That is rubbish." Xhi-Xhi shook her head. "I used nannies with your mother."

"I know." Jeanette muttered.

"And you had nannies growing up." Xhi-Xhi ignored her.

Laura sighed. "Thank you, Grandmother."

"Yeah, thanks, Grandmother." Marc nodded.

Xhi-Xhi clasped her hands together. "What will you name her?"

"One more time?"

"Her name. You must name her, dear."

"I'm sure she has a name. How old is she?" Laura demanded.

"She's sixteen and of course she has a name but it's ugly. I'm glad Marceline Anne named hers something quite fetching."

"Marcy, you named Marionette?!"

"Yes." Marcy said.

"You can't be serious!" Mercedes gaped. "What's her real name?!"

Marcy shrugged.

"Are you saying you don't remember?" Quinn thought it was hilarious and the smile overtaking her face said so.

"It was two and a half years ago!"

Marc snickered. "Life is not boring with you, Little Sister."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Grandmother, I am not renaming this poor girl!" Laura refused. "I'm surprised at you, Marcy!"

"Why?" Karou wanted to know.

Marcy pushed her and she toppled over.

"She was extremely accommodating while pregnant." Mercedes supposed. "Maybe she didn't want to upset Grandmother by refusing?"

"Ugh!"

Mal took her hand. "And she'll be that way again in just three short years."

Marcy exhaled lightly.

"What now?!" Laura demanded.

"We agreed to start trying again in our last semester of university." Mal beamed.

"Really?!" Mercedes squealed.

"More grandkids?!" Jeanette and Judy celebrated.

"Congrats, little brother." Marc air-fived Mal.

Everyone began talking at once so no one noticed Mike sitting next to a quiet Marcy. "You okay?"

"We haven't even had the kid yet." She murmured.

"Do you-? You know? _Not_ want it?"

She looked to make sure no one was paying attention to them. "I promised."

"Marce…"

"I promised."

He sighed deeply. "If you think you can handle it."

 _ **M-A-P**_

Laura's lips trembled. "Oh! Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" Three of Laura's sorority sisters yelled.

"You guys gave such great gifts! I can't thank you enough!"

The trio tittered.

"We have more games to play." China held up game pieces.

"Joy…" Marcy deadpanned.

"You're just sour that I outbid you on this!" Karou held out her prize.

Marcy snatched it from her and threw it.

"Marcy!" Karou went after it.

Quinn, London and Paris laughed.

Laura giggled. "Be good, Moppet. You'll win the next game."

"Whose idea was it to have an auction at a baby shower anyway?!" Marcy grumped.

"Mine! Now stop being crabby!" China handed everyone tiny plastic circles. "We're playing Bingo now."

"Good graciousness…"

"What?!"

"That's so boring! Let's play paintball or something!"

"At a baby shower?!"

"Yes!"

"That does sound fun." Mike brought up.

"We can't play paintball with a pregnant lady!" Marc snapped. "Can we?"

"Marc?!" China set her hands on her hips.

"We can't, guys!"

"Boo!" The men booed China, including her husband.

"We can if we don't use rifles." Marcy rolled her eyes. "We can fill water balloons with paint. And Laura doesn't even have to play. She can be record keeper. She's a wet blanket anyway."

"Hey!" Laura bit off.

"Come on, Laura!" The men begged.

"No!" She whined. "I want to play Bingo!"

Even Quinn grimaced. "Why?!"

"Because I'm not on the sidelines while you all have all the fun!"

"What about a water balloon fight?" Marcy suggested. "With food coloring? You can't get hurt that way!"

"I can't run and hide-!"

"Marc's sittin up there like a brick wall! Use him!"

Marc gave her an unamused look.

"Marcy!" China chided. "Laura wants to play Bingo."

"Remember that when it's my turn again!" Marcy crossed her arms.

Mal brightened. "Come on, Laura. Be fun for once!"

Laura gasped. "I _am_ fun!"

Mike scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Laura poked her bottom lip out. "Is this really what you want?"

"Yes!" The others shouted.

"I suppose."

They began cheering.

"I will watch your back." Marcy promised as she sidled over. "Since your big blockhead husband refuses to."

Marc growled.

"Nothing better happen to me." Laura threatened.

Marcy lifted her shoulders. "What could happen?"

 _ **M-A-P**_

Laura glared at Marcy.

Marcy had her lip poked out as she stared at the floor of the hospital room.

The door opened and the doctor came in. "Hello, Mrs. Taylor-Jones. How are you?"

"I'm fine." Laura looked at him. "Is this it?"

"No. It was just Braxton Hicks contractions. This is a little early for them but it was brought on by your recent activity. I'm recommending bed-rest for a few weeks. It'll do you well and then you'll be free to move about and do your daily rituals. How does that sound?"

"Um…" Marc lifted a finger. "I have a game in Pittsburg. Can she get on a plane?"

"Oh, I'm not too sure about that, Mr. Taylor-Jones." He shook his head.

"But she has to be there. It's the Superbowl." Marc began panicking internally.

"The Superbowl?" His eyes narrowed in confusion.

"The biggest football game of the year? I'm the wide receiver for the Rams and I have to have my wife there! She's my good luck charm!"

"Mr. Taylor-Jones? Take a few deep breaths."

Laura made him sit behind her. "Are you okay?"

"I- I don't think so." Marc shook his head.

"Take deep breaths, Mr. Taylor-Jones. Deep breaths." The doctor imitated breathing so Marc would follow his lead.

Marc took deep breaths. Soon he was calm. "I need her there, Doc."

"It's a sports thing." Marcy spoke up.

"Hello." The doctor noticed her. "And you are?"

"Sister and the reason she's in here." Marcy's lips twisted. "Can she be on bed-rest for a week, fly out for the game, taking care to not do _anything_ the whole time then fly back to be on bed-rest again?"

The doctor thought about it. "I suppose it could work but you must be very careful, Mrs. Taylor-Jones. Absolutely no funny business before, during or after the game. I'd hate to have to deliver two months early."

"I'll be careful." Laura promised.

"You're free to discharge at any time. It was a pleasure meeting you all. Good luck on your game. Goodbye." He left with a smile.

"Can you go tell everyone that things are fine?" Marcy put her hands in her back pockets.

"Shouldn't you go?" Marc was appalled.

"It's better coming from you."

"But-"

"Get out!"

"I would ask if you were pregnant but you're only this mean alone." He glared at her as he kissed Laura then left.

Marcy shut the door behind him. She came to stand right in front of Laura and looked her in the eye. "I'm sorry. It's my fault you're in here. You didn't want to play but I forced it on you for frivolous reasons and it's not fair. It was your baby shower and what you wanted should have been above all. I'm sorry. Next time I'll be a better sister."

Laura smiled. "You're a great sister. Sometimes I'm not fun. I'm so busy trying to be everyone's mom that I forget that I haven't actually had any kids yet. You keep me young."

"Is that your way of telling me I drive you crazy?"

"You and Michael."

"Not Lucy?"

"Oh yes. Can't forget her."

"What about Mal?"

"Yup!"

"And Maddie?"

"Only sometimes."

"And Marc?"

"More than he knows."

"It can't be Mercy."

"No, that one I like."

Marcy giggled.

Laura giggled, too. "I love you, Lil Sis."

"Right back at cha, Big Sis."


	34. UPDATE

I'm sorry to inform readers of this story that I will not be uploading any more of it. has been a really good website but it's just too hard to keep uploading stories to. If you want to continue wih this story or others I've written/am writing, head over to Wattpad. I'm in the process of uploading all of my stories onto that website and certain stories are already finished.

See you there!

Nene J. Phillips

Wattpad handle is NeneJPhilly


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